DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Dibectob 

Water-Supply Paper 254 



THE UNDERGROUND WATERS OF 
NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA 

BY 

STEPHEN R. CAPPS 

WITH A CHAPTER QN 

THE CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS 

BY 

R. B. DOLE 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1910 




Book , -I fe C a. 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

i 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director 



Water- Supply Paper 254 



THE UNDERGROUND WATERS OF 
NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA 

BY 

STEPHEN R. CAPPS 

WITH A CHAPTER ON 

THE CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS 

BY 

R. B. DOLE 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1910 



7 2- 



f\ 



qF 






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CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Introduction 13 

Need of investigations 13 

Previous work .. 13 

Conditions under which work was done 15 

General summary of results 15 

Acknowledgments 16 

Geography 17 

Drainage and relief 17 

Wabash River system 17 

White River system 18 

Kankakee River system 18 

St. Joseph River system 18 

Lakes 18 

Marshes 19 

Climate ' 19 

Native vegetation 21 

Soils and crops 22 

Special factors in development 23 

Oil and gas 23 

Transportation 23 

Inhabitants 24 

Geology 24 

Outline of geologic history • 24 

Relations of ground water to geology 25 

Effect of glaciation on topography 26 

Moraines 27 

Outwash plains 27 

Till plains 27 

Surface deposits 27 

Glacial till 27 

Description 27 

Distribution 28 

Topography 28 

Ground water in the till 28 

Source 28 

Distribution and circulation 29 

Types of wells 29 

Morainal drift '. 29 

Description : 29 

Distribution 30 

Topography 30 

Ground water in the morainal drift 31 

Sources and distribution 31 

Types of wells 31 

Outwash deposits 31 

Description 31 

Distribution 31 

Ground water in the outwash deposits, ..... ,.,..., 32 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

Geology — 'Continued . Page. 
Surface deposits — Continued. 

Valley alluvium 32 

Description and distribution 32 

Ground water in the alluvium 33 

Sand 34 

Character and distribution 34 

Ground water in the sands 34 

Rock formations 35 

General geologic section 35 

Ordovician system 37 

St. Peter sandstone 37 

Description and distribution 37 

Source and movements of water 38 

Character of the water 38 

Trenton limestone 38 

Description and distribution 38 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water 39 

Character of water 39 

Dangers from Trenton water 40 

Cincinnatian series 40 

Description 40 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water 40 

Character of water 40 

Silurian system 41 

Niagara limestone 41 

Kokomo limestone 42 

Silurian water 42 

Devonian system 44 

Description 44 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water 44 

Carboniferous system (Mississippian series) 44 

Knobstone group 44 

Description 44 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water 45 

Ground water 45 

Sources 45 

Prevailing ideas 45 

Actual conditions 46 

Movements 47 

In the surface zone 47 

In the deeper zones 48 

Occurrence 50 

Relation to topography 50 

Relation to structure 50 

Pores 50 

Bedding planes 50 

Joints 51 

Relation to type of material 51 

Unconsolidated deposits 51 

Consolidated deposits 51 

Sandstones 51 

Shales 52 

Limestones , 52 



CONTENTS. 5 

Ground water — Continued. Page. 

Volume 52 

Mineral matter in solution 53 

Springs 53 

Drift springs 53 

Rock springs 54 

Wells 55 

Methods of construction 55 

Open wells 55 

Description 55 

Disadvantages 55 

Bored wells 56 

Driven and drilled wells 57 

Driven wells 56 

Drilled wells 57 

Combination wells 57 

Flowing wells 58 

Essential conditions 58 

In surface deposits 58 

In rock 59 

Location of flowing wells 61 

Lifting devices 62 

Bucket and windlass 62 

Siphon 62 

Pumps 62 

Hydraulic rams 62 

Public supplies 63 

Relative merits of sources 63 

Surface water 63 

Wells 64 

Springs. . , 65 

Care of public water supplies 65 

Public and private ownership of water supplies 66 

Detailed descriptions 70 

Boone County 70 

Surface features and drainage 70 

Geology and ground water 70 

Unconsolidated materials 70 

Consolidated materials 71 

Artesian areas 72 

Supply for the city of Lebanon 73 

Village and rural supplies 74 

Thorntown 74 

Whitestown 74 

Zionsville 75 

Jamestown 75 

Rural districts 75 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 75 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 76 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 77 

Carroll County 78 

Surface features and drainage 78 

Geology and ground water 78 

Unconsolidated materials 78 

Consolidated materials 79 

Artesian areas 80 



6 CONTENTS. 

Detailed descriptions — Continued. 

Carroll County — Continued. Page. 

City and village supplies 81 

Delphi 81 

Flora 82 

Camden 83 

Burlington 83 

Pittsburg 83 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 84 

Rural districts 84 

Records of type wells (tabulated) 85 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 86 

Cass County 87 

Surface features and drainage 87 

Geology and ground water 87 

Unconsolidated materials 87 

Consolidated materials 89 

Artesian areas 89 

City and village supplies 90 

Logansport 90 

Royal Center 91 

Galveston 92 

Walton 92 

Young America 92 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 93 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 93 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 94 

Clinton County 95 

Surface features and drainage 95 

Geology and ground water 95 

Unconsolidated materials 95 

Consolidated materials 96 

Artesian areas 96 

City and village supplies 97 

Frankfort 97 

Colfax 98 

Kirklin 99 

Rossville 99 

Mulberry 99 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 100 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 100 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 101 

Elkhart County 102 

Surface features and drainage 102 

Geology and ground water 103 

Unconsolidated materials 103 

Consolidated materials , 104 

Artesian areas 104 

City and village supplies 104 

Elkhart 104 

Goshen 106 

Nappanee 107 

Wakarusa 107 

Middleburg 107 



CONTENTS. 7 

Detailed descriptions — Continued. 

Elkhart County — Continued. Page. 

City and village supplies — Continued. 

Bristol 107 

Millersburg 107 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 108 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 108 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 109 

Fulton County. 110 

Surface features and drainage 110 

Geology and ground water Ill 

Unconsolidated materials Ill 

Consolidated materials Ill 

Artesian areas 112 

City and village supplies 112 

Rochester 112 

Kewanna ' 113 

Akron 114 

Tiosa 114 

Fulton 114 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 115 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 115 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 116 

Grant County 117 

Surface features and drainage 117 

Geology and ground water 118 

Unconsolidated materials 118 

Consolidated materials 119 

Artesian areas 120 

City and village supplies 121 

Marion 121 

Gas City 122 

Fairmount 122 

Jonesboro 122 

Upland 123 

Vanburen 123 

National Military Home 124 

Matthews 124 

Swayzee 124 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 124 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 126 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 127 

Hamilton County 129 

Surface features and drainage 129 

Geology and ground water 129 

Unconsolidated materials 129 

Consolidated materials 130 

Artesian areas 131 

City and village supplies 133 

Noblesville 133 

Sheridan 134 

Cicero 134 

Arcadia 134 

Atlanta 134 



8 CONTENTS. 

Detailed descriptions — Continued . 

Hamilton County — Continued. Page. 
City and village supplies — Continued. 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 135 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 136 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 137 

Hancock County ' 138 

Surface features and drainage 138 

Geology and ground water 138 

Unconsolidated materials 138 

Consolidated materials 139 

Artesian areas 140 

City and village supplies 141 

Greenfield 141 

Xew Palestine . . 141 

Fortville 141 

Charlottesville . '. 141 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 142 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 142 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 143 

Hendricks County 143 

Surface features and drainage 143 

Geology and ground water .- 144 

Unconsolidated materials 144 

Consolidated materials 145 

Artesian areas 145 

City and village supplies 146 

Danville 146 

Plainfield 146 

Pittsboro 147 

Brownsburg 147 

Coatsville 147 

North Salem 147 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 148 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 148 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 149 

Howard County 150 

Surface features and drainage 150 

Geology and ground water 150 

Unconsolidated materials 150 

Consolidated materials 151 

Artesian areas 151 

City and village supplies 153 

Kokomo 153 

Greentown 154 

Russia ville 154 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 155 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 156 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 157 

Kosciusko County 158 

Surface features and drainage 158 

Geology and ground water 159 

Unconsolidated materials 159 

Consolidated materials 159 

Artesian areas 160 



CONTENTS. 9 

Detailed descriptions — Continued. 

Kosciusko County — Continued. Page. 

City and village supplies 161 

Warsaw 161 

Syracuse 162 

Milford 162 

Pierceton 162 

Mentone 163 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 163 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) . - 164 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 165 

Madison County 166 

Surface features and drainage 1 66 

Geology and ground water 166 

Unconsolidated materials 166 

Consolidated materials 167 

Artesian areas 168 

City and village supplies 169 

Anderson 169 

Elwood 170 

Alexandria 170 

Frankton 171 

Summitville 171 

Pendleton 172 

Lapel 172 

Orestes 172 

Ingalls 172 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 173 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 174 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 175 

Marion County 177 

Surface features and drainage 177 

Geology and ground water ' 177 

Unconsolidated materials 177 

Consolidated materials 178 

Artesian areas 179 

City and village supplies 179 

Indianapolis 179 

Brightwood 182 

Fort Benjamin Harrison 182 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 183 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 184 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 185 

Marshall County 187 

Surface features and drainage 187 

Geology and ground water 188 

Unconsolidated materials 188 

Artesian areas 189 

City and village supplies 190 

Plymouth 190 

Bremen 191 

Argos 191 

Bourbon 192 

Culver 192 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 193 



10 CONTENTS. 

Detailed descriptions — Continued . 
Marshall County — Continued. 

City and village supplies — Continued. p age . 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 193 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 194 

Miami County 196 

Surface features and drainage 196 

Geology and ground water 197 

Unconsolidated materials 197 

Consolidated materials 198 

Artesian areas 198 

City and village supplies 199 

Peru 199 

Converse 200 

Denver '. 200 

Bunker Hill 201 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 201 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 202 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 203 

St. Joseph County 205 

Surface features and drainage 205 

Geology and ground water 206 

Unconsolidated materials 206 

Artesian areas 206 

City and village supplies 207 

South Bend 207 

Mishawaka 209 

Walkerton 210 

New Carlisle 210 

North Liberty ' 211 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 211 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 212 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 213 

Tipton County 215 

Surface features and drainage 215 

Geology and ground water 216 

Unconsolidated materials 216 

Consolidated materials 216 

Artesian areas 217 

City and village supplies t 217 

Tipton » 217 

Windfall 218 

Sharpsville 218 

Kempton 218 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 219 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 216 

Analyses of waters (tabulated) 220 

Wabash County 221 

Surface features and drainage 221 

Geology and ground water 222 

Unconsolidated materials 222 

Consolidated materials 223 

Artesian areas 223 

City and village supplies 225 

* Wabash 225 

North Manchester 225 



CONTENTS. 11 

Detailed descriptions — Continued. 
Wabash County — Continued. 

City and village supplies — Continued. Page. 

Roann 226 

La Fontaine 226 

Laketon 226 

Other village supplies (tabulated) 227 

Records of typical wells (tabulated) 228 

Analyses of water (tabulated) 229 

Chemical character of the waters of north-central Indiana, by R. B. Dole 230 

Introduction 230 

Methods of analysis 230 

Expression of analytical results 232 

Standards for classification 233 

Mineral constituents of water 233 

Uses of water 234 

Water for domestic purposes 234 

Conditions in north-central Indiana 234 

Physical qualities 235 

Bacteriological qualities 235 

Chemical qualities 236 

Water for boiler use 238 

Importance of mineral content 238 

Formation of scale '. 238 

Corrosion '. . 239 

Foaming 240 

Remedies for boiler troubles • 240 

Boiler compounds -. 241 

Numerical standards 242 

Water for other industrial uses 244 

General statement 244 

Effect of free acids . 245 

Effect of suspended matter 245 

Effect of color • 246 

Effect of iron 246 

Effect of calcium and magnesium 247 

Effect of carbonates 248 

Effect of sulphates 248 

Effect of chlorides 248 

Effect of organic matter 249 

Effect of hydrogen sulphide 249 

Effect of other substances 249 

Water for medicinal use 249 

Purification of water 251 

General discussion 251 

Slow sand filtration 253 

Mechanical filtration 255 

Cold-water softening 256 

Feed-water heating 257 

Chemical composition of the waters 258 

Water from the unconsolidated deposits 258 

Water from the rock 261 

Surface water 262 

Summary 264 

Field assays '. 265 

Index 269 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



» Page. 

Plate I. Map of surface deposits of north-central Indiana 16 

II'. Map to show thickness of surface deposits of north-central Indiana. . 26 

III/ Geologic map of north-central Indiana 36 

IV. 1 Map of artesian areas of north-central Indiana 58 

V.'A, A common type of well-drilling rig; B, Solution channels in 

"Niagara" limestone 58 

VI. A, Water oozing from bedding planes of limestone; B, Flowing well 

at Danville waterworks 118 

VII. A, Flowing well at Matter Park, near Marion, Ind.; B, Well at Matter 

Park when wells at a paper mill half a mile away are pumped 120 

Figure 1. Index map showing area covered by this report 14 

2. Relations of flood -plain wells to the neighboring stream 46 

3. Influence of surface slopes and of structure on movements of under- 

ground waters 48 

4. Diagram showing relation of the water table to the surface topog- 

raphy 50 

5. Conditions producing springs in glacial drift 54 

6. Conditions producing springs in rocks 54 

7. Conditions that yield artesian flows in moraines and in outwash 

gravels 59 

8. Conditions of flow in alluvial gravels with head supplied from the 

drift gravels 59 

9. Conditions of flow in alluvial gravels with head supplied from the 

limestone 59 

10. Conditions that yield artesian flows in rocks 60 

11. Conditions for artesian flows in limestone, with head supplied by the 

overlying drift 61 

12 . Diagram showing source of artesian head in the valley of Deer Creek . 90 

12 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



By Stephen K. Capps. 



INTRODUCTION. 

NEED OF INVESTIGATIONS. 

The region discussed in this report includes an area of 7,611 square 
miles in north-central Indiana, between 85° 27 ' and 86° 44 ' west 
longitude and 39° 36' and 41° 46' north latitude. The counties 
included are Hendricks, Marion, Hancock, Boone, Hamilton, Madi- 
son, Clinton, Tipton, Carroll, Howard, Grant, Cass, Miami, Wabash, 
Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, St. Joseph, and Elkhart. (See fig. 1.) 

The work was undertaken during the season of 1907 as a part of 
the underground-water investigations of the United States Geological 
Survey. The object of these investigations is to supply to com- 
munities, municipalities, and water users generally definite informa- 
tion as to the quantity, quality, distribution, accessibility, and proper 
safeguarding of the ground-water supplies, which, with the increasing 
pollution of surface waters by industrial wastes and a growing popu- 
lation, are becoming more and more important. North-central Indi- 
ana includes not only many closely settled farming and manufacturing 
centers, but a region in which there has been extensive development 
of the oil and gas industries, and hence there is particular need for 
reliable information upon which to base a proper practice in water- 
supply development. In such development in the future ground waters 
will share as they have in the past. They are utilized for domestic 
supplies, for manufacturing enterprises of various sorts, and by rail- 
roads and other users of steam power. In some places large sums 
have been wasted in unwise attempts at development, as, for exam- 
ple, in deep drilling at points where a careful study of conditions proves 
that suitable supplies are to be found at shallow depths or not at all. 

PREVIOUS WORK. 

In 1899 a paper on the wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Lev- 
erett,° was issued by the Geological Survey. Although Mr. Leverett 
collected the material for this paper during his investigations of the 

a Wells of northern Indiana: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Surrey Xo. 21, 1899. 

13 



14 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



glacial geology of the State and was not directing his attention par- 
ticularly to the conditions of water supply, his results were found to 
be of such value that the edition of his paper was soon exhausted. 
W. S. Blatchley, a of the Indiana Geological Survey, has published 
an excellent paper on the mineral waters of Indiana. This paper, 




.-i 



i h ■<" ) r\ / 



? 



i 



/ 

Figure 1.— Index map showing area covered by this report. 



as its title indicates, deals only with a special phase of the general 
problem. In the sixteenth report of the state geologist of Indiana, 
the records of many deep wells are given, and a number of these rec- 
ords are used in the present paper. 



a B latch ley, W. S., Mineral waters of Indiana: Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and 
Nat. Res., 1901. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

The report of the Indiana state board of health for 1906 includes 
a description of the public water systems of the State. This paper, 
by H. E. Barnard, although brief, contains valuable data. Other 
scattered references to underground- water conditions occur in the 
various reports of the Indiana Geological Survey, but these reports 
are not complete for any considerable areas. 

In this report many valuable data have been taken from the various 
reports of Frank Leverett, especially in regard to the glacial geology 
of the area. The map of the glacial geology QP1. I) is compiled from 
his earlier maps and from an unpublished map which will appear more 
fully under his name in a report of this Survey which is now in the 
hands of the printer. The geologic map in this report follows the 
geologic map of Indiana, by T. C. Hopkins," and the geologic section is 
compiled from sections published by W. S. Blatchley and George H. 
Ashley, 5 and by Frank Leverett. c 

CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH WORK WAS DONE. 

The field work upon which this report is based was begun July 1, 
1907, under the direction of F. G. Clapp. Mr. Clapp remained in the 
field until September 10, and the writer until November 9, of the 
same year. After Mr. Clapp withdrew from the field to undertake 
investigations elsewhere, the northern four counties were investigated 
wholly by the writer, by whom the report on the whole area was 
prepared. 

The field study of the geology of this region was necessarily con- 
fined for the most part to the Pleistocene deposits, since the under- 
lying rocks outcrop at the surface at widely separated localities, 
because of the thick mantle of glacial deposits overlying them. But 
wherever rock outcrops could be found they were studied carefully, 
especial attention being paid to joints, bedding planes, and other 
openings with reference to their capacity for holding or affording 
passage for underground waters. 

Every township and every community of 25 people or more was 
visited and an examination made of the conditions of the local water 
supply. It was not possible to visit each well, but when such visits 
were impracticable correspondence with the owners yielded much 
information. 

GENERAL SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 

In the area under discussion a great variety of conditions are met 
in endeavoring to obtain supplies of underground water. About 
two-thirds of the area is covered with drift to a depth of over 100 
feet, and in such places by far the greater number of the wells obtain 

<i Hopkins, T. C, Geological map of Indiana; Indiana Geol. Surv., 1901-1903. 

b Rept. Indiana State Geologist, 1S97. 

c Water-Supply Paper U- S. Geol. Survey No. 114, pp. 258-263. 



16 UNDEKGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

their water from the drift. In the areas where the drift is less than 
100 feet thick the conditions also vary greatly. Where rock lies at 
a depth of 30 feet or less the greater number of wells reach or pene- 
trate the rock. Where the drift is more than 30 feet thick less than 
half the wells reach the rock. This 30-foot dividing line is only 
approximate, however, and the conditions vary in different localities. 
As driven and drilled wells become more common the number of 
them that reach the rock increases. 

There are few places in the area where enough water for domestic 
purposes can not be obtained at moderate depths. Difficulties are 
often met, however, in obtaining wells of sufficient yield for public 
supplies or for manufacturing purposes where large quantities of 
water are needed. 

In order that the sources of the most abundant and accessible 
water supplies in this area might be reported upon definitely, the 
conditions in 378 cities, towns, and villages were investigated, and a 
considerable amount of work was done in the country districts between 
these communities. 

Especial attention was paid to the water conditions in communi- 
ties having public supplies. Recommendations are herein made as 
to possible improvements where such supplies are inadequate or show 
bad sanitary conditions. 

More or less complete records of about 1,200 wells were procured. 
The more significant of these in each county, as well as the analyses 
of the various waters, are tabulated at the end of each county 
description. 

In all, 83 areas in which flowing wells occur were visited and their 
ou times mapped. These areas are discussed in the county descrip- 
tions, and suggestions are made as to the possibility of obtaining 
flowing wells. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

From the nature of the work it was necessary that information 
should be obtained from a very large number of persons, of whom it 
is impossible to make individual mention but to all of whom thanks 
are due for courtesies rendered. To Dr. J. N. Hurty, secretary of the 
state board of health, and to Dr. H. E. Barnard, chemist of the state 
board of health, the thanks of the author are particularly due for cour- 
tesies in analyzing water samples and for other assistance. In each 
congressional district the Representative gave valuable information and 
aid. The officials of the various railroads in the area have been uni- 
formly courteous in furnishing information concerning the waters 
along their lines. A large number of chemical analyses and well 
records were obtained from the files of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chi- 
cago and St. Louis Railway, the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, 
the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, the Lake 



S. GEOLOGICAL SURV 



"T\- 




MAP OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA 

SHOWING THE SURFACE DEPOSITS 

BY STEPHEN R. CAPPS 



□ m E3 



GEOGRAPHY. 17 

Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and the Erie Railroad. Rec- 
ords of a great number of oil and gas wells were obtained from Mr. 
L. A. Von Behren, of the Marion Gas Company; Mr. Charles Dale, of 
the Cicero Gas Company; Mr. Sherman, of the Noblesville Gas and 
Improvement Company, and many others. Material assistance was 
rendered by the majority of the superintendents and chief engineers 
of the city waterworks of the region, among whom Mr. H. McK. 
Lanclon, of the Indianapolis Water Company, and Mr. E. E. Hully, 
of the Marion Water Works Company, furnished especially valuable 
data. Of the many well drillers who were seen, the following made 
some sacrifice of time to give information: Messrs. John E. Weigel, 
of Marion; Charles Million, of Lake Cicott; the firm of Linton & 
Graf and Mr. Wm. H. Hay worth, of Logansport; Messrs. D. M. 
Kimmerling, of Anderson; S. Mason, of Fisher's Switch; Patrick 
O'Shea, of South Bend; and T. F. Hersey, of Lebanon. In addition 
to the foregoing a number of other citizens have taken interest in 
the work and given exceptional assistance in various ways. Among 
these are: The Hon. C. B. Landis, of Delphi; Mr. T. E. Cartwright, 
of Summitville; Dr. C. W. Burket, of Warsaw; Mr. Cicero Simms, of 
Frankfort; and Mr. S. T. Mark, of Alexandria. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

DRAINAGE AND BELIEF. 

General relations. — Except Elkhart County and parts of St. Joseph 
and Kosciusko counties, which drain by St. Joseph River into Lake 
Michigan, and a considerable portion of St. Joseph and Marshall 
counties, which drain by Kankakee River into Illinois River, the 
area under discussion lies in the Ohio River basin. It is a plateau 
from 700 to slightly more than 1,000 feet above sea level. Only the 
deeper river valleys fall below the lower limit, White River at the 
south edge of the area having an elevation of less than 700 feet, while 
Wabash River, at the west-central edge, has incised its valley con- 
siderably below the 600-foot level. The total range in elevation is 
about 450 feet. (See PI. I.) 

Wabash River system. — The largest and most important drainage 
basin of this region is that of Wabash River. This stream flows 
somewhat south of west across Wabash, Miami, Cass, and Carroll 
counties. It has a deep, well-developed valley, which is cut 100 to 
150 feet below the level of the bordering uplands. The flood plain 
of the stream varies in width from one-fourth mile to 2 or 3 miles, 
and is generally limited by bluffs of Niagara limestone, into which 
the valley has been cut. Wabash River and its tributaries drain 
about 4,050 square miles of the region under discussion, considerably 
r more than one-half the whole area. 
46448°— wsp 254—10 2 



18 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

The most important tributaries of the Wabash are (1) Mississinewa 
River in Miami, Wabash, and Grant counties: (2) Eel River in Kos- 
ciusko. Wabash, Miami, and Cass counties: (3) Tippecanoe River in 
Carroll, Kosciusko, and Fulton counties; (4) Pipe Creek in Cass. 
Miami, and Grant counties : (5) Wild Cat Creek in Carroll and Howard 
counties: (6) Eel River in Cass. Miami, and Wabash counties. 

White, River system. — Xext in importance to the Wabash basin in 
respect to the area drainage is the basin of West Fork of White River, 
with an area in this district of about 1,900 square miles. The stream 
flows west and south across Madison, Hamilton, and Marion counties 
and furnishes water for a number of the larger cities along its banks. 
The only important tributary within this area is Fall Creek, which 
flows through the same counties as T\ Thite River but lies farther 
south and east. 

Most of Hancock County and small areas in eastern Marion and 
southern Madison counties drain through Sugar and Brandywine 
creeks and their tributaries into East Fork of White River. Neither 
of these creeks is notable for its size or for the development of its 
valley. 

Kankakee River system. — The northern two-thirds of Marshall 
County and the south and west parts of St. Joseph County are drained 
by Kankakee River and its tributaries. The river flows southwest- 
ward through the Kankakee marsh and joins Desplaines River below 
Joliet, 111., to form Illinois River. 

St. Joseph River system. — In the northeast corner of the region 
there is an area of about 700 square miles, including Elkhart and 
parts of St. Joseph and Kosciusko counties, which is tributary to St. 
Joseph River. This river flows into Lake Michigan and belongs to 
the great St. Lawrence drainage basin. It makes a loop southward 
from Michigan into Elkhart County and flows west-southwest to 
South Bend, at which city it turns sharply northward and reenters 
Michigan. Elkhart River, its only important tributary in Indiana, 
traverses Elkhart County from south to north and receives the drain- 
age from a part of northern Kosciusko County. 

Lakes. — Scattered throughout the morainic portions of this region 
are many small lakes and ponds. Almost without exception these 
lakes occupy basins left in the irregular surface of the glacial 
moraine deposits. Kosciusko County alone has over 60 such 
lakes, and they are numerous in St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, and 
other counties. In spite of the abundance of these bodies of water 
there is none of great size. Wawasee and Syracuse lakes in north- 
east Kosciusko County are connected and form the largest lake in 
the area. They are together 6 miles long and have an area of a little 
more than 5 square miles. Some of these lakes, including Maxin- 



GEOGRAPHY. 



19 



kuckee, Wawasee, and Winona lakes, have become popular as sum- 
mer watering places. 

Marshes. — Much the same agencies that produced the lakes of 
this region have caused the extensive marshy areas that have 
existed, especially in the northern counties. Considerable areas in 
Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, and St. Joseph counties were formerly 
so marshy that cultivation was out of the question. Much has been 
done in the last generation to reclaim these wet lands, and networks 
of drainage ditches have so reduced the water level in some of the 
marshes that they are now annually plowed without great incon- 
venience from the moisture. The ditching is still in progress and 
the area of the waste lands is being rapidly reduced. Ditching proj- 
ects have been especially successful in Cass, Kosciusko, and Marshall 
counties, and in these and in St. Joseph County are the largest of 
the areas still to be drained. 

CLIMATE. 

Northern Indiana is a region of temperate climate and moderate 
rainfall. The following tables show the temperature and precipita- 
tion for some stations within the area from 1900 to 1906, and by months 
for 1907. It will be seen that the highest temperature recorded in 
this period was 106° F., at Indianapolis in the summer of 1901, and 
the lowest was —24° F., at Delphi in the winter of 1905. These 
were both exceptional seasons, the average range of temperature for 
these cities being less than 110°. 

Temperature at seven Indiana cities, 1900-1906. 
[Degrees Fahrenheit.] 



Anderson. . . 

Delphi 

Indianapolis 
Kokomo — 
Logansport. 

Marion 

South Bend . 



1900. 



Maxi- 
mum. 



93 



Mini- 
mum. 



-7 
-7 

-7 



51.6 
54.0 
52.7 
52.1 
52.7 
50.9 



Maxi- 
mum. 



104 
104 
106 
102 
105 
105 
103 



Mini- 
mum. 



-11 
-12 
-10 
- 9 
--12 
-12 
-15 



Mean. 



51.2 
49.9 
52.0 



50.2 
50.9 
49.1 



1902. 



Maxi- Mini- 
mum, mum. 



Mean. 



51.8 
49.9 
52.4 
51.4 
50.7 
51.2 
49.5 



Anderson . . . 

Delphi 

Indianapolis 

Kokomo 

Logansport.. 

Marion 

South Bend. 



1903. 



Maxi- 
mum 



100 
94 
97 
97 
97 
93 



Mini- 
mum. 



-12 
- 9 
-10 
-10 
-12 
-10 



Mean. 



51.1 
49.4 
51.9 
50.7 



50.6 
48.1 



1904. 



Maxi- 
mum 



Mini- 
mum 



-13 

-20 
- 7 
-12 
-15 
-18 
-11 



Mean. 



49.1 
47.6 
50.3 



47.8 
48.2 
45.7 



Maxi- 
mum. 



Mini- 
mum. 



-17 
-24 
-16 
-20 
-19 
-20 



50.9 
49.3 
51.8 
50.3 
49.2 
50.3 



Maxi- 
mum. 



Mini- 
mum. 



Mean. 



20 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



Precipitation at seven Indiana cities, 1900-1907. 
[Inches.] 



1900. I 1901. 

I 



1902. 



1903. 



1904. I 1905. 



1906. 



1907. 



Anderson 

Delphi 

Indianapolis. 

Kokomo 

Logansport.. 

Marion 

South Bend.. 



40.69 
38.45 
40.65 
30.96 
37.94 
34. 55 



28.68 
30.92 
30.33 
31.37 
29.52 
32. 35 
30. 93 



39.20 
42.51 
37.70 
40.86 
39.96 
40.63 
41.53 



34.68 
33.48 
32.46 
31.50 
38.38 
39.81 
42.32 



40.61 
40.23 
45. 42 



32.43 
41.88 
31.47 



45.33 
40.87 
33.27 



38.14 
39.64 
39.27 



32.85 
39. 27 
36.47 
35.97 
41.70 
43. 54 
35.53 



43. 33 
44.91 
38.56 
38.54 
44.62 
43.70 
43.58 



Temperature at eight Indiana cities, by months, 1907. 
[Degrees Fahrenheit.] 



January. 



February. 



Maxi- 
mum. 



Mini- Aver-Maxi- Mini- 
mum, age. mum. mum. 



Aver- 
age. 



March. 



Maxi- Mini- Aver- 
mum. mum. age. 



April. 



Maxi-; Mini- 
mum, mum. 



Aver- 
age. 



Anderson . . . 

Delphi 

Indianapolis 

Kokomo 

Logansport. , 

Marion 

Rochester... 
South Bend. 



33.0 
29.8 



32.8 
30.2 
31.8 
30.6 
26.7 



28.7 
26.4 



28.4 
27.2 
27.6 
26.5 
24.4 



48.0 
44.8 



48.0 
46.6 
40.6 
44.6 
41.6 



22 

19 

27 

20 

20 

19! 

21 I 

17 



42.3 
41.4 



41.9 
42.4 
43.2 
41.4 
39.0 







May. 






June. 






July. 






August 






Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini- 
mum. 


Aver- 
age. 


Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini- 
mum. 


Aver- 
age. 


Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini- 
mum. 


Aver- 
age. 


Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini- 
mum. 


Aver- 
age. 


Anderson 


83 
84 
83 
82 
85 
84 
80 
80 


32 
28 
34 
29 
30 
28 
30 
26 


56.2 
54.8 

"54." 6* 

55.8 
55.2 
55.0 
51.9 


88 
92 
88 
92 
94 
93 
88 
90 


40 
42 
45 
40 
44 
38 

2 


66.7 
66.8 

"66." 5" 

68.2 
67.2 
67.9 
65.6 


90 
93 
93 
90 
93 
91 
88 
87 


52 
45 
52 

45 
46 
48 
50 
47 


73.4 
73.6 

"72. "7" 
75.2 
74.2 
74.2 
71.0 


89 
94 
90 
93 
95 
92 
87 
90 


49 
45 
54 
45 
46 
45 
48 
45 


70.2 


Delphi 


70.0 


Indianapolis. 




Kokomo t 

Logansport 

Marion 

Rochester 

South Bend 


69.8 
71.2 
70.5 
70.1 
69.0 

















September. 



October. 



November. 



December. 



Maxi- Mini- Aver- Maxi- Mini- Aver-Maxi- Mini- 



mum, mum. 



age. mum. mum. age. 



mum. mum. 



Aver- 


Maxi- 


Mini- 


age. 


mum. 


mum. 


39.3 


60 


10 


37 


60 


9 




60 


18 


39.1 


60 


11 


39 


61 


10 


38.2 


60 


9 


38.1 


55 


10 


37.9 


55 


14 



Anderson I 86 

Delphi 92 

Indianapolis j 87 

Kokomo ! 90 

Logansport 95 

Marion 88 

Rochester I 85 

South Bend | 91 



64.9 
63.7 



63.4 
65 
64.2 
63.2 



82 


20 


86 


23 


83 


31 


85 


25 


89 


26 


84 


55 


72 


27 


83 


27 



51 

48.8 



49.4 
50.2 
49.8 
49.3 
48.4 



33.4 
30.8 

"34." 6 

32 

32.4 

31.8 



Precipitation at eight Indiana cities, by months, 1907 
[Inches.] 



Jan. 



Feb. 


Mar. 


- 


May. 


0.15 


4.69 


2. 76 2. 85 


.32 


3.93 


1.91 


2.87 


.18 


4.07 


2.07 


2.85 


.04 


3.80 


2.08 


3.15 


.35 


3.92 


1.71 


4.07 


.15 


4.62 


2.64 


2.35 


.15 


5.31 


2.32 


4.20 


.42 


3.91 


3.76 


4.13 



June. 



July. 


Aug. 


6.93 


4.85 


6.43 


3.86 


4.41 


2.33 


4.88 


4.05 


5.79 


6.13 


3.97 


3.82 


4.61 


2.99 


5.10 


3.48 



Sept. 



Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


1.89 


2.18 


3.48 ! 


1.31 


2.31 


5.53 


2.23 


2.52 


3.23 


2.42 


1.74 


3.83 


1.70 


2.42 


4.84 


2.35 


2.00 


4.70 


1.60 


2.57 


4.40 


2.43 


2.36 


4.92 



Year. 



Anderson 

Delphi 

Indianapolis. 

Kokomo 

Logansport.. 

Marion 

Rochester. . . 
South Bend. 



7.00 
7.68 
5.59 
4.60 
7.01 
4.80 
3.42 



4.88 
5.50 
4.68 
4.45 
6.38 
7.46 
6.46 
4.83 



2.27 
3.94 
2.31 
2.51 
2.71 
2.66 
4.73 
4.82 



43.33 
44.91 
38.56 
38.54 
44.62 
43. 73 
44.14 
43.58 



GEOGRAPHY. 21 

The annual precipitation, which is rather evenly distributed, 
varies from about 30 inches in very dry seasons to over 40 inches in 
wet seasons, but even in the driest seasons there is usually enough 
rain to insure crops. 

As the ground is frozen for about four months each year, and the 
precipitation then is of course in the form of snow, very little of it can 
enter the ground during that period. During the remaining eight 
months the soil is in condition to absorb large amounts of the rainfall, 
and this goes to swell the ground-water supply. The direct influence 
of the rainfall on shallow wells is noticeable wherever such wells are 
in use. During the spring, when the rainfall is heaviest, and when, 
in addition, the snows that have accumulated on the surface during 
the winter melt, the ground-water level often rises notably, some- 
times filling wells nearly to the top and flooding cellars which are not 
tightly walled and floored. Later, in the dry summer months, the 
water table is lowered by evaporation from the surface, by leakage 
from springs and seeps along the lowlands, and by the drain upon the 
waters by vegetation and by wells. In seasons of exceptional drought 
the water table may be so lowered below the bottom of the shallower 
wells that they fail. Often if such wells are deepened a few feet the 
water table is again encountered, and the wells once more become 
productive. 

The influence of climatic or seasonal conditions on the deeper 
wells is much less evident. In most deep-lying formations the 
movements of the water are very slow, and a change in the supply 
caused by seasonal conditions might be observable, if at all, not 
until long after the cause for the change had passed. 

The waters in many deep water-bearing rocks are under hydro- 
static pressure from a head at some distant point, and are separated 
from the surface by impervious beds. Under such conditions, 
changes in season or in rainfall in the area about the well would 
have no effect whatever upon the supply of the well, unless they 
also were effective in the region from which the water-bearing beds 
derived their supply. 

NATIVE VEGETATION. 

The greater part of northern Indiana was originally heavily 
timbered, and the timber lands still produce a considerable amount 
of saw logs. The white, red, and burr oak logs are much sought, 
and the best bring high prices from the manufacturers of furniture 
and veneer. Beech is the timber of next importance ; hickory, elm, 
ash, and maple are also abundant. 

The timber lands are now nowhere extensive, and have been 
reduced to small areas which are surrounded by cultivated fields. 
Carelessness and waste are still exhibited in the management of the 



22 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NOBTH-CEKTRAIi INDIANA. 

timber lands and the cutting of timber, and a little study and care 
would greatly increase the future production of the forests, which 
become more and more valuable with the rapidly advancing price 
of lumber. 

Undisturbed timber lands are admirable agents in the conserva- 
tion of underground water. The thick loamy soil of woodlands, 
formed of decaying matted leaves and roots, is well adapted to retain 
moisture, and the shade of the forest greatly retards evaporation. 
By retaining the water that falls upon them the forest soils reduce 
the run-off and increase the quantity that sinks into the ground. 
Thus the forest lands act as reservoirs and assist in equalizing the 
ground- water supply. In the areas where all forests have been 
cut away and the fields put under cultivation it has been noticed 
that the water table has fallen, and wells which formerly furnished 
abundant water are now dry for part of the year. 

SOILS AND CROPS. 

The soils of northern Indiana, though varied, are for the most 
part rich, as are most of the soils in the Mississippi Valley which 
have been deposited by glacial agencies. Most of the farm lands 
have a soil composed of a mixture of oxidized glacial clay and organic 
material. The glacial till is a mixture of ingredients gathered from 
the country to the north, and the efficiency of this mixture has long 
been known from the large production of most of the areas which 
were fortunately coated with it. As far down as it reaches this till 
is fertile, and as the average thickness over northern Indiana is more 
than 100 feet, there is at least no immediate danger that the soils 
will be removed from this region by erosion. The glacial drift, origi- 
nally bluish, has commonly been oxidized to yellow for a few feet 
below the surface. 

In many areas which are or have been low and marshy there is 
a layer a foot or two thick of light, black soil largely composed of 
decomposed vegetable matter. This soil is locally called muck, 
and in certain sections it produces large crops of onions and potatoes. 
The vegetable matter has in some places accumulated in sufficient 
amount and purity to form a considerable layer of peat. 

Along the bottom lands of both large and small streams are found 
the alluvial soils. The extent of these alluvial areas varies with the 
width of the valley bottoms, but wherever found they furnish most 
desirable farming land, unless the high waters from the streams 
flood them too frequently. 

In the northern counties there are broad flat areas mapped by 
Leverett as sandy till plains (PL I), in which are various combinations 
of till-plain and out wash materials. As a whole the soils in these 



GEOGRAPHY. 23 

areas contain more sand and gravel than the soils of the typical till 
plains, as in much of western Kosciusko and eastern Marshall counties. 

Along the west edge of Marshall, Fulton, St. Joseph, and Cass 
counties are areas where the surface materials consist for the most 
part of impure sands. These sandy areas are on the eastern edge of 
what was in glacial times a broad shallow lake, which has been named 
Lake Kankakee. The sands were deposited along the shores of the 
lake and winds have spread them over much country that never lay 
beneath the lake itself. The sandy soils are cultivated in many places, 
but will not support as heavy crops as the clayey soils. 

Northern Indiana falls within the " corn belt," and a greater acreage 
is devoted to this cereal than to any other crop. Over much of 
the country wheat is a close rival at present, the high price of wheat 
in the past few years having caused much land which had previously 
been used for corn culture to be planted in wheat. Oats and other 
cereals are also important crops, while in some places onions and 
potatoes are cultivated almost to the exclusion of the grains. > 

SPECIAL FACTORS IN DEVELOPMENT. 

Oil and gas. — Within the last twenty-five years rich strikes of 
petroleum and natural gas have been made in various parts of the 
area, and, as usual, many people have been attracted to the oil and gas 
fields. The oil was piped or hauled to various centers outside of the 
producing fields to be refined, but the gas drew to the fields a mul- 
titude of manufacturers who, seeing increased profits from the use 
of this cheap and abundant fuel, located their plants wherever the gas 
was to be had. A list of the various users of gas for manufacturing 
purposes in the year 1888 is given in one of the reports of the Depart- 
ment of Geology and Natural History of Indiana. a Since that report 
was published, however, the supply has diminished greatly and 
numerous wells have been abandoned. Some districts have "played 
out" entirely. Many factories found it impossible to operate suc- 
cessfully, and their vacant buildings are a common sight in the old 
gas fields. 

Transportation. — The situation of the area gives it uncommon 
transportation facilities. All the railroads between Chicago and 
the East take courses south or southeast around the south end of 
Lake Michigan, and "most of these roads cross the area considered in 
this report. In addition, a network of railroads crosses in other 
directions, and these roads, with the increasing number of electric 
interurban lines, afford exceptional opportunities for marketing crops 
and for easy communication between towns. The rapid development 
of the country is in large measure due to these conditions. 

a Sixteenth Ana. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., pp. 280-301. 



24 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

INHABITANTS. 

The nineteen counties covered by this report have an aggregate 
area of 7,611 square miles. As shown by the census of 1900, the 
population was then 781,690, an average of 102 inhabitants to the 
square mile. The actual distribution of the population, however, is 
rather irregular. In Fulton County settlement is least dense, there 
being but 45 people to the square mile, while in Marion County the 
average is 493 to the square mile. This high average is due, of course, 
to the location in Marion County of Indianapolis, which is much the 
largest city in the State. 

South Bend, the second city in size in the area, had, in 1900, a 
population of 35,999. There were at that time no other cities larger 
than 30,000. 

Aside from the cities, the population throughout the nineteen 
counties is rather evenly distributed, and the larger counties have, 
in general, a proportionately large population. 

GEOLOGY. 

OUTLINE OF GEOLOGIC HISTORY. 

Briefly, the geologic history of this area is as follows: For a very 
long period, during Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and 
Carboniferous times, the seas over this region varied in depth from 
time to time, giving the conditions necessary for the successive 
formation of sandstones, shales, and limestones to a thickness of 
several thousand feet. Between the deposition of the Cambrian and 
the Carboniferous sediments there were certainly a few and probably 
many periods when land emerged from the seas and was worn away 
by the streams, waves, and winds. After and probably during 
Carboniferous time there was a general emergence of this land from 
the water, and perhaps the area has never since been covered by the 
sea. At different times during the slow processes of sedimentation 
and of changes in the relations of land and sea stresses were set up 
in the rocks of the earth's surface at certain places and the beds were 
locally folded and distorted, as we can now see by the notable depart- 
ure of the beds from the horizontal, as at Delphi. During this long 
period of emergence the land was subjected to the erosion of streams 
and other agencies and was doubtless notably reduced. The land 
surface was cut into ridges and valleys and the streams established 
well-developed drainage lines. This was the condition at the begin- 
ning of the glacial period. 

The glacial period began when a great glacier slowly advanced 
from the north, covering the land with ice many hundreds and per- 
haps many thousands of feet thick. The more prominent irregularities 
of the rock surface were worn away and the topography was funda- 



RELATIONS OF UNDERGROUND WATERS TO GEOLOGY. 25 

mentally changed. In the course of time, from changes in climatic 
conditions, the glacier melted back far to the north, leaving behind 
it great quantities of detrital material. Later there came again at 
least one and perhaps more than one ice invasion, reducing still further 
the rock surfaces or overriding the former deposits and adding to the 
already enormous deposits of glacial debris. 

With the final withdrawal of the ice the Recent period was begun. 
Since the beginning of this period the streams and other erosional 
agencies have been constantly at work, reestablishing drainage lines 
to replace those which the glaciers disturbed and placing under stream 
control the irregular surfaces of the glacial deposits. Much work 
still remains to be done by the streams before the marshes and lakes 
are all drained, but this work is being forwarded in a notable way 
by the artificial construction of drainage ditches. 

RELATIONS OF GROUND WATER TO GEOLOGY. 

A very intimate relation exists between the geology of a region and 
its underground water supply. With the temperate climate and 
abundant rainfall with which the area here under discussion is 
favored, the abundance of the ground water, the ease with which it 
can be obtained, and the character of the water depend in great meas- 
ure upon the structure, texture, and composition of the materials 
which compose the upper portion of the earth's crust. The under- 
ground waters occupy the openings of various kinds which exist in 
the materials below the surface. With favorable conditions of 
topography, the underground waters will be easily available if such 
openings are numerous, large, and continuous, and will be difficult to 
obtain if the openings are few, small, and discontinuous. The 
chemical character of the water, too, is determined by the chemical 
composition of the materials through which it passes, by the solu- 
bility of the constituents, by the length of time the water remains 
in contact with the soluble elements, and by conditions of pressure, 
temperature, etc. A fuller discussion of the relation of the different 
types of materials to the underground waters will be given in the fol- 
lowing pages. As the relation of the underground waters to the for- 
mations in which they occur is a definite one, it is possible, if the 
character, composition, and depth of the underlying formations are 
known, to predict with a considerable degree of accuracy the amount, 
character, and depth of the water which may be obtained by wells in 
a given place. A careful study of the geology and of the succession 
of geologic formations is therefore necessary for a proper interpretation 
of the facts collected in an investigation of this kind. 



26 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

EFFECT OF GLACIATION ON TOPOGRAPHY. 
MOVEMENTS OF THE ICE. 

Before the great ice invasions of the glacial epoch the topography 
of this region was very different from that of the present. At that 
time the great sheet of bowlder clay, now covering the region, was 
absent, and the then-existing surface forms were the result of erosion 
by preglacial streams in the rocks which at present underlie the 
mantle of glacial deposits. • Most of these earlier stream valleys had 
courses very different from those followed by the present streams, 
and the surface of the country was much steeper and more rugged 
than it is now. Upon the advance of the great glacier from the north 
all this was changed. The ice, moving slowly south, first removed 
all the soil and loose materials, and then, with its base shod with 
fragments of rock frozen into the ice, gradually wore down the hills 
and smoothed off the most prominent irregularities. Great quanti- 
ties of rock debris were picked up and carried by this ice sheet. 
Much of this material was collected from areas far to the north, from 
which the ice came, and many bowlders of crystalline rock are scat- 
tered over the surface and incorporated with the bowlder clay. As 
there are no crystalline rocks in place for a long distance north of the 
present position of some of these bowlders, it is certain that they 
must have been carried far before they were dropped by the ice. 

The materials which the ice gathered in its southward journey 
were deposited toward the south or melting edge of the glacier. 
Much was deposited beneath the thinning glacier edge as till, filling 
depressions and grading over the worn rock surfaces. Many of those 
stream valleys which had not been erased by the grinding action of 
the glacier were filled full and leveled over by the deposits of glacier- 
brought debris. Some such filled-in valleys can be recognized by col- 
lecting the records of well drillings, some of which show a great 
depth to rock, while others near by reach rock at much shallower 
depths. Such an old preglacial valley is that described by J. A. 
Bownocker, which runs from the Ohio Kiver Valley near Cincinnati 
north along the present Little Miami Valley, and then northwest and 
west through Grant and into Wabash County. This buried canyon 
certainly continues still farther north and west, but the data at 
present available are insufficient to determine its entire course. 
There is some evidence that it follows the course indicated in Plate 
II, across Wabash and Miami counties. 

It has been shown 6 that this region has been subjected to more 
than one glacial invasion, but it was the last ice advance that had 
the greatest influence in molding the present surface, for the last 

a Ohio State Acad. Sci., Special Paper No. 3. 

b Eighteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4, 1898, p. 434. 



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MAP OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA 

SHOWING THE THICKNESS OK SURFACE DEPOSITS 



n □ 



Ro, I, ,i 20to50 feel 



SURFACE DEPOSITS. 27 

glacier rehandled and rearranged the materials which it found in its 
course and effaced the irregularities of the drift as left by its prede- 
cessor, while its own moraines are unmodified by destructive agencies 
except the slow ones of weathering and stream erosion since the 
withdrawal of ice. 

MORAINES. 

At the edge of the ice, as it covered this region, was deposited much 
of the material that it had picked up and carried with it. Many of 
these deposits form huge irregular ridges, which the ice left as it 
retreated, forming successive moraines farther and farther north. 
As the edge of the ice sheet was irregular in outline, and as the gen- 
eral retreat of the glacier was irregular and interrupted by short 
advances, the moraine deposits are most unsystematic. The ice at 
each advance would modify or destroy all the previously formed 
moraines over which it passed. These conditions account for the 
irregular and patclry distribution of the morainic areas, as shown on 
the map (PI. I). 

OUTWASH PLAINS. 

At the base of many of the morainic deposits are plains of fine 
gravels, sands, and silts which slope at a low angle away from the 
morainic ridges. These plains were deposited at the time the glaciers 
were building the moraines. The abundant waters from the melting 
ice flowed away from the ice edges and carried with them large quan- 
tities of the finer debris. This material was deposited beyond the 
moraines and built up the gentle slopes there. It is in such deposits 
or in the irregular gravel beds of the moraines themselves that most 
of the gravel pits throughout the area are located. 

TILL PLAINS. 

Perhaps the most notable topographic feature of this area is the 
great extent of the plains formed of pebbly clay or till. These plains 
were built below the body of the glacier which was advancing over 
them, and the present level or slightly rolling surface of much of the 
country, especially south of Wabash River, is due to these deposits 
of till or ground moraine. The till is discussed more fully in the fol- 
lowing pages. 

SURFACE DEPOSITS. 

GLACIAL TILL. 

DESCRIPTION. 

The term till has been applied to those clayey phases of glacial 
debris which were laid down by the great ice sheets that covered this 
area in Pleistocene times. It consists of a compact clayey matrix, 
through which are scattered pebbles, bowlders, and angular pieces 



28 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

of rock ranging from microscopic dimensions to a diameter of several 
feet. The rock fragments in this particular region are derived gen- 
erally from the local limestones. There are many representatives, 
however, of the crystalline rocks of Canada that were brought hun- 
dreds of miles by the ice to their present resting place. The large 
bowlders in the till are usually of these more resistant crystalline rocks. 
At some places the till contains thin beds of rudely stratified gravels 
or sands, but these form only a small percentage of the total thickness. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Originally the till sheet seems to have been continuous over the 
whole area. Postglacial erosion has now removed it from a few nar- 
row strips along the valleys of the more important streams, but other- 
wise the till sheet is practically unbroken. It does not, however, 
outcrop everywhere at the surface. Plate I shows the present dis- 
tribution of the till plains. Although much of the surface is now 
occupied by morainal deposits, outwash plains, and alluvium, the 
moraines and outwash deposits generally and the alluvium in most 
places are underlain by this great till sheet. The till varies in thick- 
ness in different parts of the area from a thin layer to more than 400 
feet, and probably averages more than 100 feet thick throughout 
north-central Indiana (PL II) . 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The till, where not overlain by morainal deposits, has character- 
istically a very mild topography. Over entire townships there is 
often a range of only a few feet hi elevation, with even the stream 
valleys less than a dozen feet below the level of the plain. The dead 
level of a perfect plain is usually broken by slight undulations or 
swells of 4 or 5 feet from trough to crest. This extensive till sheet 
forms the broad plateau of the whole region here discussed. The 
plateau surface ranges from a little below 700 feet to about 900 feet 
above sea level, and is broken by the valleys of the larger streams 
and by the more or less ridgelike, superimposed terminal-moraine 
deposits. 

GROUND WATER IN THE TILL. 

Source. — As it occupies the plateau tops and the crests of the 
stream divides, the till must receive most of its water from the rain- 
fall. The flatness and imperfect drainage of much of its surface 
results in the absorption of a large proportion of the rainfall. In 
those areas where the till is overlain by gravelly morainic drift these 
more porous materials receive the rainfall and feed it to the underly- 
ing till. In places, too, there are deep preglacial valleys in the rock 
surface which have been filled with till, and here it doubtless receives 
some water from the rock. For the most part, however, the waters 
are absorbed directlv from the rainfall. 



SUKFACE DEPOSITS. 29 

Distribution and circulation. — By far the greater part of the till is 
composed of a fine-grained clay, which has a rather large proportion 
of pore space, but in which the individual pores are small. In the 
flat areas the water table approaches close to the surface, and most 
of the body of this material is saturated with water contained in these 
pores. The thin beds of gravel or sand, or of gravelly or sandy clay, 
also have a large amount of pore space, with larger individual pores. 
In some of these beds, if they happen to be higher at one end than at 
the other, waters under artesian pressure are found, the more imper- 
vious clayey beds above and below being effective in preventing the 
dissipation of the head which the slope of the bed gives to the water. 

Even in the close-textured portion of the till there is some circu- 
lation of the waters, but the movement is very sluggish. On the 
other hand, in coarse gravel beds in the till the circulation may be 
very rapid. There may be all gradations in rapidity of movement 
between these two extremes, the rate varying with variations in the 
texture of the material. 

Types of wells. — In most till areas the amount of available water 
for well supply is small. The most common wells are open or dug, 
and these will generally supply sufficient water for domestic use. 
They have been locally called seep wells, from the slow way in which 
the water seeps out of the till, and definite water channels are rarely 
encountered in this material. Dug wells, while furnishing sufficient 
water for ordinary domestic use during most of the year, are apt to 
fail in exceptionally dry seasons when the water table has become 
lower than usual. Furthermore, the open shallow wells are always in 
danger of pollution from cesspools and barnyards, the drainage from 
which enters the ground and becomes part of the ground-water supply. 
Tubular wells that case off the surface waters are much safer and can 
more easily be put down to such depths that they will not be affected 
by drought. If tubular wells will not supply sufficient water, deep 
dug wells, open only near the bottom, and with tightly cemented 
walls and tops, are recommended. 

MORAINAL DRIFT. 
DESCRIPTION. 

The terminal-moraine deposits in this region are formed largely of 
the same sort of materials as those which make up the till. They 
consist of a heterogeneous mixture of glacial debris, composed of 
great bowlders, pebbles, and blocks of rock mixed indiscriminately 
with sands and clays. The common matrix of this unstratified mass 
is a blue clay. The bowlders and bits of rock included in the drift 
are derived both from the native rocks of the area and from the 
crystalline rocks of the upper course of the glacier in Canada. Inter- 



30 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

bedded with the unassorted drift are numerous lenses or pockets 
of stratified sands and gravels, some lying flat and some much dis- 
turbed. The morainal drift differs from the till in that it has never 
been subjected to the great pressure of an overriding ice body, and 
has not had the glacial kneading and squeezing which has given the 
till its tough, compact character. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

The morainic tracts, of irregular shapes and distribution, were 
deposited at the ice edge during the retreat of the glacier. Doubtless 
many moraines that do not now exist were built while the ice was 
advancing or during temporary halts in the general period of advance. 
Such moraines, however, were overridden and obliterated by the 
southward-moving ice edge. Only those survived which were built 
on territory which the ice never again invaded. In an area in which 
the moraine material is thin or absent we may infer that the final 
ice retreat was continuous and rapid. The presence of a well-defined 
moraine ridge indicates that the ice edge was approximately station- 
ary at this point for some time. 

The distribution of the different morainic areas is shown on Plate I. 
It will be seen that, while scattered irregularly over the entire area, 
they are more prominent topographically and more continuous north 
of Wabasrl River than south of it. 

The Maxinkuckee moraine extends, in this area, from Tippecanoe 
River in Fulton County north through Marshall into St. Joseph, and 
thence eastward through Elkhart County. Another, deposited 
between two lobes of the great glacier, extends from a point a few 
miles north of Delphi northeastward through Carroll, Cass, Miami, 
Wabash, and Kosciusko counties. The other moraines are smaller, 
more patchy in distribution, and of less vigorous development. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

Since terminal moraines are deposited along the front of a glacier 
it is natural to expect them to be more or less ridgelike in form. 
This is true of the great belt which crosses parts of Cass, Miami, 
Fulton, Wabash, and Kosciusko counties from northeast to south- 
west, and of portions of the Maxinkuckee moraine. The smaller 
patches are ridgelike only in their general relations to the surround- 
ing till plateau. The surface commonly consists of an irregular 
succession of sharp hills and basin-like depressions. Many of the 
depressions contain lakes or have been silted up to form marshes. 
In many parts the moraine surface is thickly strewn with bowlders, 
most of them of the resistant crystalline rocks. 



SURFACE DEPOSITS. 31 

GROUND WATER IN THE MORAINAL DRIFT. 

Sources and distribution. — All the moraines lie on top of the till 
plateau and stand up somewhat above their surroundings. Because 
of their elevated position the only source for the underground water 
of these deposits is the rainfall, a large part of which is absorbed by 
the porous drift. Some of it issues from the drift as springs or seeps 
near the base of the moraine, and some is fed to the underlying till. 

In the moraines much of the water is held in the fine pores and 
gravelly portions of the unstratified clays. The clays give up their 
waters slowly, and wells in the bowlder clay, though commonly 
yielding enough water for household use, do not generally strike 
abundant supplies. Those wells which penetrate bodies of gravel 
or coarse sand, on the contrary, commonly yield largely, and it is 
from such open beds that most of the wells in the moraines obtain 
their water. The coarse gravel and sand beds are much more com- 
mon in morainal drift than in the till plains, and as a result wells are 
more easily obtained and the water supplies are more abundant in 
the drift than in the till. 

Types of wells. — Almost anywhere in the morainic areas tubular 
wells may be successful if they are continued downward to a bed of 
open material. Bowlders are encountered by many wells in the drift, 
causing difficulty, but most wells that avoid them are successful. 
Artesian wells are in some places obtained in the drift gravels and 
sands. 

OUTWASH DEPOSITS. 
DESCRIPTION. 

Beyond the edge of a terminal moraine the till plain is in many 
places covered by an outwash plain formed while the moraine was 
being built. The abundant waters from the melting ice, heavily 
charged with debris from the glacier, built out alluvial fans of low 
slope from the base of the terminal moraine. In places the fans 
coalesced to form a continuous outwash plain or apron. Outwash 
plains are composed of imperfectly assorted gravel, sand, and silt. 
The individual particles of the beds are of the same materials which 
make up the moraines, but the assorting action of the waters has 
separated and arranged them, the coarser materials lying nearest the 
moraine and the finer farther away. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

While all the outwash plains are in close relation to the moraines 
next to which they were formed, such plains are not present beyond 
every moraine, but only where the slopes caused the glacial w T aters to 
flow out over a flat plain, as in northwest Kosciusko and eastern 
Marshall County (PL I). Where the waters drained into deep val- 
leys and left their deposits in them, the chances were favorable for 
the postglacial removal of the outwash gravels. 



32 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

GROUND WATER IN THE OUTWASH DEPOSITS. 

The outwash plains receive much of their water directly from the 

rainfall, and the porous materials of which they are composed readily 
absorb the water precipitated upon them. The moraines at their 
upper edge also supply them with water by seepage and by direct 
communication between the gravels. 

In the open gravel and sand beds of an outwash plain the lateral 
movements of the water are free and may be veiy rapid. If a single 
bed is continuous from the upper to the lower edge of the plain and 
has an outlet for the water below, the movement of the water may 
be free enough to keep the gravel bed drained. If. on the other 
hand, such a bed were included between impervious beds and had 
no free outlet below, a considerable artesian head would develop 
toward the lower edge of the inclined plain. Such conditions are not 
uncommon, and in certain areas many flowing wells are supplied in 
this v 

The outwash materials have, as a rule, remained uncemented. 
The ground waters, therefore, are contained in the minute pore 
spaces of the fine materials and in the larger openings of the coarser 
sands and gravels. In the coarser deposits which compose most of 
the outwash plains a great portion of the contained water is avail- 
able for well supplies, and the most common type of well is the driven 
well, usually only 12 to 15 feet deep. Driven wells may furnish an 
unfailing supply of water but are not safe from the pollution of 
privies, manured fields, etc. To be perfectly safe they should be 
driven to a water-bearing bed below an impervious clayey layer. 

VALLEY ALLrVTTM. 
CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION. 

All the larger streams of the areas here discussed have broadened 
their valleys and built up flood plains along at least a part of their 
courses. Many of the smaller streams have patches of alluvial bot- 
tom lands along their valleys, but alluvial deposits reach especially 
notable size in the valleys of St. Joseph. Wabash, and White rivers. 
The deposits are composed of the roughly assorted detrital materials 
which the stream has carried and left in favorable localities. The 
materials are gravels, sands, and silts, derived from the glacial 
deposits and from any material over which the stream has traveled, 
and contain the native limestones and decomposed shales, as well 
as the glacier-borne erratic materials. 

It is uncommon for one of the large streams of this area to occupy 
the whole of its valley bottom, and it does so only in flood season or 
where the stream flows over a rock ledge. The remainder of the 
valley floor is alluvial material. Generally this floor is below high- 



SUBFACE DEPOSITS. 33 

water level, and is overflowed in flood seasons. Above this at some 
places there are remnants of older, higher flood plains which now 
stand as terraces above the present river flat. The alluvial bottoms 
vary in width, the widest measuring 3 or 4 miles, and appear on an 
areal map as long, narrow areas following the courses of the larger 
streams. 

GROUND WATER IN THE ALLUVIUM. 

The valley alluvium, like the materials of the outwash plain, 
consists of uncemented, imperfectly stratified gravels, sands, and 
muds. In all these materials the waters are in the openings 
between the particles. As the amount of available water in muds 
and fine sands is small, it is necessary to reach coarse sands or 
gravels for successful wells. Few wells 8 to 15 feet in depth fail 
to enter such gravel beds, and abundant water is everywhere obtain- 
able at little expense. Valley alluvium, from its nature, occurs in 
valley bottoms where the water table approaches the surface, and 
water is obtained with such ease that people often neglect to go a 
few feet deeper than the water table, though by so doing they might 
obtain a much safer and more palatable water supply. 

Much of the water in alluvial deposits is directly absorbed from 
the rainfall, for the porous beds will readily receive large amounts 
of water. Perhaps still more important is the water received by 
seepage or springs from the materials which form the uplands. The 
valley sides may be composed either of till, as they are in most 
places, or of limestone or shale, or of morainic deposits. A common 
but erroneous idea is that the bottom-land waters are supplied by 
the streams that flow through them. The movement of the under- 
ground waters is from the uplands toward the streams; and instead 
of the stream supplying water to its banks, the banks are constantly 
augmenting the stream by the escape of their stored waters. Chemi- 
cal analyses of the stream waters and of the ground waters of the bot- 
tom lands in this area show a great difference, the stream waters 
containing much less lime than the ground waters. Only at times 
when the streams rise more rapidly than the water table of their 
banks do the streams furnish any addition to the ground-water sup- 
ply, and then only for a short time. (See fig. 4.) 

In the open and more porous beds of valley alluvium the move- 
ment of the ground waters may be rapid. The water table of the 
uplands is higher than that of the valleys, and this causes the waters 
to move streamward. There is also some movement of the waters 
down valley. (See fig. 4.) Under favorable conditions artesian pres- 
sure may develop in alluvial deposits, the head being furnished by 
the higher water table of the uplands. (See figs. 8 and 9.) 

46448°— wsp 254—10 3 



34 UNDERGROUND WATERS OE NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

SAND. 
DESCRIPTION AND DISTRIBUTION. 

St. Joseph, Marshall, Fulton, and Cass counties, along their west- 
ern edges, border on an area which, during the retreat of the last 
glacier, was occupied by a large lake, which has been called Lake 
Kankakee. a The basin which it occupied is now a sandy plain, and 
wind-blown sand tops the glacial clays for some distance east of the 
borders of the lake flat. The water-laid sands are in many places 
coarse or even gravelly, and were derived from the glacial deposits 
along the shores and shallows of the lake and from the debris dumped 
directly into the lake by the glacier. East of the shore of this extinct 
lake the sands, being wind sorted, are fine and contain little or no 
gravel. 

Only a very small area of the region under discussion lies within the 
old lake basin, which is remarkably flat and featureless. Formerly 
the lake bed was an almost impassable marsh, but by systematic 
ditching much of it has been reclaimed. East of the lake basin 
the wind-blown sand has spread and emphasized the topography of 
the underlying drift. In some places small but distinct dunes occur. 

GROUND WATER IN THE SANDS. 

As the wind-blown sand lies altogether on the surface of the area 
in which it occurs, it is evident that its water is derived almost wholly 
from the rainfall. The lake-bed deposits, also, are largely dependent 
upon the rainfall for then water, although the bordering shores of 
glacial drift and dune sand supply some water to the sand beds. 

The sandy deposits are unconsolidated and not subject to joints, so 
the contained water all occurs in the pore spaces between the rock 
particles. The pore space in sand is very large, ranging up to 35 or 
40 per cent of the whole volume, and wells driven into the lake beds 
always get abundant waters close to the surface. In the wind- 
blown sands the pore space is large, but the particles are small and of 
uniform size, so that the sands have a habit of packing very closely. 
Drillers often have great trouble in finding a bed of material coarse 
enough so that it will not crowd into the strainer at the well bottom 
and clog it up. The sand also packs so closely around the pipes that 
wells are driven in and pulled with difficulty. The wind-blown 
sands are usually not deep, and even where blown into dunes of con- 
siderable size they are usually so well drained as to be of little value as 
water producers. 

oLeverett, Frank, Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 38, 1899, pp. 334-338. 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 35 

ROCK FORMATIONS. 
GENERAL GEOLOGIC SECTION. 

Many wells penetrating deep into the earth pass through rock 
formations which do not come to the surface in the region. By 
a careful examination of the records of well borings, and by a com- 
parison of these with the geologic succession in other areas where the 
deep-lying beds of northern Indiana outcrop at the surface, -geologists 
have been able to determine in some detail the series of rocks which lie 
below the surface to great depths. Only those formations which 
have an influence upon the water supply of the region are of interest in 
this discussion, and only those will be discussed which have been 
penetrated by the drill. The following table shows in a general way 
the geologic formations represented, their thickness, general constitu- 
tion, and value as water carriers: 



36 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 






03 



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GEOLOGIC MAP OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA 



□ 



■ Mtogand ^ h "vr ( ".",', l ''i 1 ,".,i! 1 ",'i , '..',' | 11,1 



ROCK FORMATIONS. 37 

Except the Pleistocene deposits, which for the most part are uncon- 
solidated materials, all the rocks of this region are sedimentary down 
to the bottom of the deepest well borings. In this area we have three 
great types of sedimentary deposits with which to deal: (1) Sand- 
stones, which were deposited under water in the zone where wave 
action was important. In north-central Indiana sandstones are seldom 
encountered in the sinking of wells, and except in a small area in 
Hendricks and Boone counties are important as a source of supply 
only in borings of very great depth. (2) Shales, which were laid down 
under water; some of them in a zone farther from the shore and in 
deeper water than the sandstones, and some of them close to shore 
along low marshy coasts, in protected lagoons or near mouths of 
streams which carry fine sediments. Shales are encountered by 
wells in northern Indiana immediately below the glacial deposits, 
although they are nowhere close to the surface. In the southwest 
portion of the area, especially in Hendricks, Marion, Boone, Clinton, 
and Carroll counties, the shales are at many points entered imme- 
diately below the till, and at a few places outcrop at the surface along 
stream cuts. In the remainder of this area, shale is invariably 
encountered by wells that are sufficiently deep to go through the 
glacial deposits and the underlying limestone. It is seldom that 
these shales yield satisfactory supplies of water, and a knowledge of 
their distribution and characteristics is important to all drillers in 
order that they may avoid these unproductive deposits. (3) Lime- 
stones form the third type of sedimentary rocks. The idea formerly 
prevailed that the limestones were laid down in very deep waters, far 
from the shore. Of recent }^ears, however, it has been generally 
conceded that they were deposited in water less than 100 fathoms 
deep. This is beyond the shale-forming zone, but is far shallower 
than the depths formerly believed necessary for the formation of 
limestone. Indeed, coral limestones are now known to be forming 
close to the shore. The chief essentials of a limestone-forming area 
are abundant lime-secreting organisms, comparatively shallow water, 
and an absence of clastic sediments. No deposits occur in north- 
central Indiana of such character as to prove beyond doubt that this 
area was ever covered by deep seas. 

ORDOVICIAN SYSTEM. 
ST. PETER SANDSTONE. 

Description and distribution. — The St. Peter sandstone is known 
to underlie the " Trenton" limestone, although it has been penetrated 
but a few times in the northern part of Indiana, in which it nowhere 
comes to the surface. In areas where it does outcrop, and according 
to the records of drillings in this and other regions, the formation 
consists of a massive, porous sandstone, composed of rather firmly 



38 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

cemented siliceous sand. Where penetrated by the drill it has 
been found to be 150 to 224 feet thick. It is underlain by the 
" Lower Magnesian" limestone. 

Doubtless this sandstone underlies the whole of the State, for 
over a great range of territory it has always been found when the 
bottom of the " Trenton" has been reached. The "Trenton" is 
known to lie continuously below this area. 

Source and movements of water. — The nearest outcrop of the St. 
Peter sandstone is in Wisconsin, some two hundred miles from the 
nearest point in this area. From this outcrop it slopes gently south- 
ward. Above the St. Peter there are, in Indiana, thick deposits of 
impervious shale, which prevent the entrance into the sandstone of 
any surface waters. Where encountered by borings, the waters of 
the formation are found to be under considerable artesian pressure, 
and it is probable that they have traveled slowly through the porous 
rock from its outcrop in Wisconsin and that the artesian head is 
transmitted from the same place. The water is included in the pores 
of the rock as well as in any joints or bedding planes that may exist. 
The rock is massive, however, and it is not likely that the joints 
are large or continuous for any great distances, as joints probably 
develop more freely near the surface than in these formations, which 
are deeply buried. The movements of the waters, therefore, are 
doubtless very slow, and the period of time during which the waters 
have been confined in the rock must have been very long. 

Character of the water. — The water from the St. Peter sandstone has 
not been put to use in the region under discussion. Something is 
known of its character, however, for at Cincinnati, Ohio, 100 miles 
southeast of Indianapolis, many wells have penetrated this sand- 
stone, and it is probable that the chemical contents of the water 
are similar in the two areas. At Cincinnati the water is heavily 
charged with salt and iron and contains also a noticeable amount of 
hydrogen sulphide. 

"TRENTON" LIMESTONE. 

Description and distribution. — The deepest rock formation of this 
district that has been frequently reached by the drill is called the 
"Trenton" limestone. Because of the great development of the 
petroleum and natural-gas industries in northern Indiana many hun- 
dreds of wells have been drilled into the " Trenton," in which all the 
important strikes in oil and gas have been made. The formation is 
a massive limestone about 500 feet thick. Its actual thickness is 
seldom recorded, for oil and gas, where found at all, are near the top of 
the formation, and hence few wells penetrate deeply into it. The 
top of the "Trenton" lies 850 to 900. feet b*elow the surface in the 
southeastern counties of this area, the depth gradually increasing to 



EOCK FORMATIONS. 39 

the north and west. The " Trenton" underlies the whole of the area 
covered by this report. 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water. — The nearest outcrop 
of the " Trenton" limestone is in the river valleys in Kentucky, south 
of Cincinnati. There its top is between 500 and 600 feet above sea 
level, while in Hancock County, Ind., it is below sea level. This gives 
the formation a dip to the northwest of 5 or 6 feet per mile. Above 
it there is a thick series of impervious shales which prevent the 
entrance of any surface waters. The source, then, of the water 
found in the " Trenton" is probably the crest of the Cincinnati arch, 
as the low broad anticline is called which runs south from Ohio and 
Indiana into Kentucky and which gives the westward dip to the beds 
on its flank. It may, however, be in the area in northern Illinois and 
southern Wisconsin, in which these beds come to the surface. 

The " Trenton" limestone equivalent which outcrops in Kentucky 
is a rather solid close-grained rock of small pore space. It is probable 
that in oil and gas areas the pore space is much greater. It is trav- 
ersed, however, by extensive systems of joints and by well-defined 
bedding planes. Both of these sets of openings have in places been 
enlarged by solution, so that the rock now has certain well-marked 
circulation channels. The bedding planes, especially, provide open 
continuous passages for the water, and wells in the "Trenton" rarely 
fail to strike such channels. It is not surprising, therefore, that the 
"Trenton" waters, where encountered in north-central Indiana, have 
lost little of their head and rise in the wells far above the level at 
which they are reached. 

Character of water. — The "Trenton" waters are all highly mineral- 
ized and are especially heavy in sodium chloride, some of them 
being almost saturated with salt. The salt waters are commonly 
associated with the oil and gas of the "Trenton," and often flood the 
wells in such quantities that they can not be pumped for oil profitably. 
As in many other marine formations, the salt was probably derived 
originally from the evaporation of sea water. In pumping the petro- 
leum the oily salt waters are pumped from the wells and allowed to 
run over the land and gradually find their way to the streams. In 
this way the streams, and to a considerable extent the ground waters, 
have been polluted. Isaiah Bowman has suggested that by direct 
ditching and by piping these waters to the streams the pollution of 
the ground waters could be largely avoided. The pollution of the 
streams seems inevitable as long as the oil and gas wells are produc- 
ing. When these fail, the streams will have an opportunity to return 
to their normal state. 

aSackett, R. L., and Bowman, Isaiah, The disposal of strawboard and oil-well waste: Water-Supply 
Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 113, 1905. 



40 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Dangers from " Trenton" water. — As stated above, the salt waters 
of the "Trenton" limestone are often under considerable artesian 
pressure and in some places will rise in the wells as high as or higher 
than in the Niagara formation. While oil or gas wells are in use they 
are cased below the Niagara to keep the water from this and overlying 
formations out of the well. In this way the "Trenton" and Niagara 
waters are prevented from mixing. On the failure or exhaustion of 
deep wells the pipe is often pulled out. A state law has been passed 
requiring that all "pulled" wells should be tightly plugged below the 
Niagara. This is to prevent the fresh water from above from get- 
ting into the oil or gas bearing rocks, as well as to keep the salty 
"Trenton" waters out of the Niagara, if the "Trenton" waters are 
under sufficient pressure to rise to this level. Unfortunately the laws 
have been evaded and many wells are not properly plugged, so that 
the salty "Trenton" waters have in places forced their way into the 
Niagara formation in sufficient quantities to give the Niagara waters 
a decidedly salty taste. The whole supply of rock waters in certain 
regions has been imperiled in this way. It is impossible to undo the 
harm that has already been done, but an appreciation of the serious 
consequences of a ruined rock water supply should do much to bring 
about in the future a stringent enforcement of the laws for the proper 
plugging of all pulled wells. 

CINCINNATIAN SERIES. 

Description. — Above the "Trenton" there occur three great 
groups of shales and limestones — the Utica shale below and the 
"Lorraine" and Richmond formations above. The Utica consists 
of persistent, close-grained brown or black shales from 50 to 400 
feet in thickness, while the "Lorraine" and Richmond formations 
consist principally of greenish or bluish shales with thin interbedded 
layers of limestone. The three formations together have ordinarily 
a thickness between 500 and 700 feet. 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water. — The shales which 
compose the great proportion of these beds are so close-grained as to 
be practically impervious. The water they contain is included in the 
microscopic openings between the tiny particles and is held with 
great tenacity by the shales. Capillary attraction and adhesion to 
the walls of the pores make these waters almost stationary. It 
seems probable that some of the water has been in the shales since 
they were first deposited. Well borings that pass through 500 or 600 
feet of these formations get very little water, and what they do get 
comes largely from the limestone layers. 

Character of water. — Few wells in this area find their supply in 
the shale formations, and there was no opportunity to take samples 
of unmixed shale waters. In southwestern Ohio and southeastern 



Hock formations. 41 

Indiana, where these beds come to the surface, the waters are found 
to be heavily charged with minerals, containing much more than any 
of the waters of the surface deposits. This larg? mineral content 
results from the lack of free circulation through the shales, the con- 
sequent long time during which the contained water remains in 
contact with them, and the comminuted condition of the particles, a 
condition that aids in the solution of the minerals. These shales do 
not outcrop in north-central Indiana, and are not to be considered 
as a possible source for well supplies there. 

SILURIAN SYSTEM. 
NIAGARA LIMESTONE. 

Definition. — The term "Niagara group" is sometimes used in 
Indiana to include all rocks of Silurian age. More commonly it is 
made to include the massive limestones which lie immediately below 
the drift in much of the northeast part of Indiana. (See PL III.) In 
all the more important oil fields of this area the Niagara is the first 
rock reached and its thickness is an important consideration with 
oil and gas well drillers, as it is necessary to case the wells through the 
limestone to keep out the water. The formation ranges from a thin 
bed to more than 500 feet thick, varying with the amount of erosion 
which the surface has suffered. As stated above, the records of well 
borings often include the Kokomo limestone ("water lime") under 
the term "Niagara." 

Lower division. — The lower part of the Niagara is a series of lime- 
stones and shales 50 to 100 feet thick which has been called "Clinton." 
This lower division nowhere outcrops in north-central Indiana, but 
nearer the crest of the Cincinnati anticline, in southeastern Indiana 
and southwestern Ohio, the beds come to the surface. Like the 
underlying rocks, these beds lie on the flank of the Cincinnati arch 
and dip to the west and north 5 or 6 feet per mile. 

This lower division of the Niagara is inclosed above and below by 
dense impervious shales, so that there is little opportunity for the 
beds to receive waters from the adjoining formations. It seems 
probable from the slope of the beds and the exposed outcrops to the 
southeast that the waters contained in these rocks have come from 
the surface outcrops. In the shale beds the waters are held in fine 
pores, and little movement takes place, as open continuous passages 
are lacking. The limestones are compact and dense and the joints 
and bedding planes offer the only channels for circulation. In oil and 
gas wells the casing is usually continued through the lower division 
(so-called "Clinton"). The uncased wells which go to these beds 
receive most of their water from the upper division of the Niagara, and 
no opportunity was afforded to obtain samples of unmixed waters 



42 UNDERGROUND WATERS OE NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

from the lower division. In this area these beds are not important 
as water producers. 

No information was obtained in regard to the character of the waters 
from the lower division of the Niagara. In southwestern Ohio a the 
waters from this horizon are as soft as any of the ground waters. 
In that area these rocks are near the surface, and the waters are in 
continuous circulation and probably do not remain in the rock long 
enough to dissolve much mineral matter. In north-central Indiana, 
however, the beds lie much deeper, the water circulation is slower, 
and the waters are doubtless much more heavily charged with min- 
erals than those in the southwestern Ohio region. 

Upper division. — The limestones of the upper division of the 
Niagara formation are thick and massive, normally 100 to 500 feet 
thick. They are the oldest rocks which outcrop in the area dis- 
cussed. They are in many places somewhat crystalline and bluish 
or buff. Thin beds of shale or " breaks" occur far apart in the 
limestone, and at its base borings pass through 2 to 40 feet of 
fine-grained greenish shale. 

KOKOMO LIMESTONE ("WATER LIME"). 

The Kokomo is also a thick, heavy limestone, but is not so massive 
or so dense in texture as the Niagara and does not show any crystal- 
line structure. Like that of the Niagara its surface is ordinarily cov- 
ered by a thick coating of till, and the outcrops are limited for the 
most part to the sides of the deeper valleys. It is well exposed at 
Kokomo, hence its name. 

This limestone is rather flat-lying in the eastern part of north- 
central Indiana, having a low, uniform dip to the west. It has 
been greatly disturbed along a northwest-southeast axis, along 
which the beds are often steeply up tilted and much fractured. This 
disturbance has been called the Wabash arch. 6 In the north and 
southwest portions of the area the Kokomo is overlain by later 
sedimentary beds. 

SILURIAN WATER. 

Source. — In the areas where the limestones lie immediately below 
the glacial deposits the limestone waters are largely derived from the 
till. The actual surface outcrops of the rocks are of small extent 
and are almost all in the deeper valleys where the waters move 
outward from the rocks. The main source of the rock waters is 
therefore in the overlying surface deposits. In the southwest quarter 
of this area and in its northern portion these limestones dip below 

a Fuller, M. L., and Ciapp, F. G., Underground waters of southwestern Ohio: Water-Supply Paper 
U. S. Geol. Survey No. 259 (in preparation). 
b Thompson, Maurice, The Wabash arch: Thirteenth Rept. State Geologist Indiana, 1888, pp. 41-53. . 



KOCK FORMATIONS. 43 

the later rocks, which contain impervious beds of clay and shale. 
Under such conditions the limestone waters come from the higher 
areas, where they are in contact with the permeable water-bearing 
beds or where the rocks outcrop at the surface and can absorb the 
rainfall directly. 

Occurrence and movements. — The texture of the limestones is dense, 
and all waters included in the body of the rock are in such fine open- 
ings that they are not readily yielded up. The available waters are 
those which occupy the systems of joints and the bedding planes of 
the rocks. Such openings are in places widened by solution to 
form channels several inches or even a few feet in diameter. (See 
PI. V, B.) The bedding planes especially are utilized by the cir- 
culating waters. This is well shown in many stone quarries, where 
a thin sheet of water constantly flows out from certain bedding 
planes (PI. VI, A). To have a freely circulating water supply a 
rock formation must have continuous openings and an outlet for the 
water at some point lower than the head. With these conditions in 
a limestone, those openings which are largest and have the most 
direct course between the source and the outlet have the advantage 
and receive the most water. With more rapid circulation comes 
increased solution along the favored channels. In this way complex 
drainage systems are occasionally developed below the surface. An 
abandoned channel of this sort is shown in the quarry face in Plate 
V, B. Wells which go through the surface deposits usually find good 
supplies of water within a few feet of the top of the limestone in the 
joints and cracks of the rock. Where the limestones are interrupted 
by shale beds abundant water is usually found just above the imper- 
vious shales. Occasionally a drill will break into a solution channel 
in the rock and drop to the bottom, and most wells which encounter 
openings of this kind prove to be inexhaustible. 

Before the glacial period the surface of the limestones was much 
broken up and was deeply decayed by weathering. The advancing 
ice removed much of this broken and loose material, and left many 
hard, fresh surfaces of rock. In some places, however, the erosion 
was less severe, or post-glacial weathering has been especially effective, 
for beneath the till there is a zone of broken and weathered limestone. 
Into this weathered zone the water penetrates readily, and wells 
driven through the till into the broken limestone commonly find 
abundant waters. 

Character. — As is to be expected, the limestone waters are invariably 
hard. The content of lime and magnesium is high and notable 
amounts of sulphates and chlorides are found in many samples 
analyzed. 



44 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

DEVONIAN SYSTEM. 

Description. — The Devonian beds underlie the southwest quarter of 
this area, but have few outcrops and are not very well known. (See 
PI. III.) They are divided into the Pendleton sandstone, the Jeffer- 
sonville limestone, the Sellersburg limestone, and the black New 
Albany shale. The limestones range in thickness from a thin edge at 
their eastern border to 200 or 300 feet where they have suffered no 
erosion. The outcrops are usually covered with a heavy deposit of 
glacial till. The sandstone, the type locality of which is in Madison 
County, varies in thickness up to 20 feet. 

The New Albany shale is a close-grained black or bluish shale about 
100 feet thick, which outcrops in a narrow strip between the Devonian 
limestones and the Mississippian shales. (See PI. III.) It is covered 
by a thick till sheet and few wells go into it. 

The Devonian beds occur also in the northern portion of the area 
but are so deeply covered by surface deposits that their distribution 
is not known. 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water. — The limestones have 
few surface outcrops and must receive their waters at their contact 
with the overlying till. No water could enter them from above in 
their deeper portions, where they are covered by the impervious New 
Albany shale. 

The New Albany shale is so close grained that it contains little 
water and retains what it has. Very little additional water is needed 
to keep up the supply. The water is nearly stationary. 

The limestones contain some water in minute pores, but their 
available supply is in the joints, bedding planes, and solution pas- 
sages. At Indianapolis many wells are supplied by this limestone, 
and in a number of them the drill has broken into well-defined chan- 
nels. Many of the wells give a large yield, but the demand upon the 
rock waters in this city is greater than the supply and the head 
has been gradually becoming lower for a number of years. 

CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM (MISSISSIPPIAN SERIES). 
" KNOBSTONE " GROUP. 

Description. — In the extreme southwest corner of the area covered 
by this report the rock formation nearest the surface is the " Knob- 
stone" group, which lies immediately below the glacial deposits in 
parts of Marion, Hendricks, Boone, and Clinton counties. (See PL 
III.) 

The "Knobstone" group consists of an alternating series of sand- 
stones and shales, the sandstones gaining in relative importance 
toward the top of the group. The " Knobstone " at its greatest devel- 
opment has a thickness of about 600 feet. The beds are little dis- 
turbed and dip to the southwest as an inclined plane of low slope. 



SOURCES OF GROUND WATERS. 45 

Source, occurrence, and movements of water. — The outcrops of the 
" Knobs tone" everywhere in this area are drift covered, though they 
are the youngest rocks of north-central Indiana. The numerous shale 
beds which are distributed through the group effectively prevent the 
vertical circulation of waters. The rock waters therefore must be 
derived from the drift at the point of contact with the porous beds of 
the underlying formations. The shale beds are so close grained 
that the circulation of water in them is inconsiderable. In the sand- 
stones the circulation is more free but is confined by the shales to 
single beds. 

In the area of the "Knobstone" outcrops most of the wells 
are supplied by waters from the overlying surface deposits. The 
few wells which enter the rock find fair supplies in the sandstones, 
but no water in the shales. In the sandstone the waters are com- 
monly found in crevices in the rock and in the pores. 

GROUND WATER. 

SOURCES. 
PREVAILING IDEAS. 

An idea which seems to have found rather wide credence in States 
bordering the Great Lakes is that the flowing wells are in some way 
connected with these lakes and that the head of the wells is maintained , 
by them. Of the area here discussed only a narrow strip along the 
Wabash River in the neighborhood of Delphi has a lower elevation 
than 581 feet, the level of Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie is still 
lower. Delphi is about 75 miles from Lake Michigan. A- large sur- 
face stream from Lake Michigan to Delphi would flow sluggishly, 
while the friction of underground waters in even the most porous of 
rocks would so reduce this head in 75 miles that a flow would be out 
of the question. Furthermore, the mouths of nearly all the flowing 
wells in the area are far above the level of Lake Michigan. 

As for the shallower wells which do not enter rock at all, the source 
of head is as a rule local and is generally not more than a few miles 
from the well and commonly only a few hundred feet. This will be 
readily understood from the fact that most of these wells end in beds 
of gravel interbedded with glacial clays. These gravel beds are 
commonly of slight extent and vary greatly in thickness even in 
short distances. The source of head in such gravel beds must be 
within the limits of the open bed, which is usually only a few 
square miles in area. 

Another common expression is that the drill penetrated a "lake" of 
water. Most such " lakes " of water are beds of porous gravel through 
which the water can enter the well as rapidly as it is pumped out. 
Actual cavities filled with water are locally found in limestones, but 



46 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

are not generally encountered in the areas which were glaciated. 
The erosive action of the ice wore away the upper portion of the 
limestone below the zone in which such caverns are likely to occur, 
and the period of time since the glacial epoch has been too short for 
the formation of very extensive solution channels. 

Another common and perfectly natural idea is that the wells in the 
lowlands near rivers or lakes are supplied by these bodies of water. In 
some instances this is actually so, but the water supplied to most 
wells is drawn from the store of ground water and not from the surface 
waters. This will be understood by reference to figure 2; Wis a well 
situated along a river flat; G-G' is the surface of the water table. 
The normal movements of the underground water are in the direction 
of the arrows. As long as the amount of water pumped from well W 
is not greater than can be supplied from the ground water without 
lowering it below the level of the river bank, or the stream does not 
rise more suddenly than the water table of its banks, the well will 
receive little water from the river. This has been definitely deter- 
mined by the analy- 
ses of the waters 
from both sources. 
If the well is pumped 
enough to lower the 
water level the water 
from the river will 
flow into the well, 
which will yield a mixture of ground water and river water. The same 
conditions obtain if the well is located near a lake or a marsh. 

ACTUAL CONDITIONS. 

Ground water is a term which has been applied to water, from what- 
ever source, which is below the earth's surface. With little excep- 
tion this water has all been precipitated upon the surface of the 
earth and absorbed through the various kinds of pores, cracks, and 
open spaces. As shown by the preceding paragraph, it is evident 
+ hat the ground- water supply receives slight contributions or none 
from the established surface streams or lakes. On the contrary, the 
streams owe their permanence to a perpetual supply which they 
receive from the body of ground water. Without this ground-water 
supply most of the shorter streams would speedily drain theif basins 
after each shower and would then remain dry until the next rain. 
As it is, numberless streams having very small drainage basins flow all 
or almost all of the year and fail, if at all, only when the ground- 
water level has been lowered below their beds by a season of great 
evaporation with little rainfall. 

For the source of the great body of ground water we must there- 
fore look to the precipitation which is absorbed by the earth and 




Figure 2.— Relations of flood-plain wells to the neighboring stream. 



MOVEMENTS OF GROUND WATERS. 47 

which percolates below the surface into the openings of the underly- 
ing materials. The total precipitation in any region can be divided 
into three parts: (1) That which is evaporated directly; (2) that 
which runs off the surface at once; (3) that which is absorbed and 
becomes ground water. The proportions of these three divisions 
vary greatly under different conditions of topography, soils, climate, 
and precipitation. With given conditions of precipitation, climate, 
and soil, however, the great factor in determining the proportions of 
the above three classes, is the topography, or configuration of the 
earth's surface. It is clear that in areas of steep slopes and well- 
established drainage the proportion of run-off will be large at the 
expense both of absorption and evaporation. In regions of slight 
relief and of few and sluggish streams the proportion of run-off will 
diminish and that of absorption and evaporation increase. As stated 
above, these proportions are vitally influenced by the character of 
the soil and the climate and the rate and character of the precipita- 
tion. As the area under consideration is for the most part a nearly 
level plateau of moderate elevation, without many deep valleys, 
the absorption is relatively large and all of this absorbed water goes 
to swell the body of ground water on which the wells depend. 

MOVEMENTS. 
IN THE SURFACE ZONE. 

The manner in which the water is absorbed and stored in the earth 
varies greatly with the materials. In the unconsolidated surface 
materials which cover almost the entire area there is a nearly com- 
plete absence of well-defined continuous openings or passages. In 
these materials the water is absorbed into the pores between the 
particles by gravity and by capillary action and gradually moves 
downward to the water table, where it is stored in similar open- 
ings. In loose material the amount of water which can be held and 
the rapidity of movement possible for the waters are determined by 
the character of the materials and the size and continuity of the 
openings. In fine-grained clays the amount of water which can be 
stored may be large, but the movements of the water are necessarily 
extremely slow. In coarse, uniform gravel, on the contrary, the 
storage capacity for water is great and the movements of water may 
be rapid. * 

The waters near the surface of the water table move much more 
rapidly than those more deeply situated. The surface of the 
water table fluctuates somewhat with the seasons, but these move- 
ments decrease rapidly downward except in rocks with well-defined 
and continuous water channels. Toward the surface of the water 
table the movements of the underground waters have commonly a 



48 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



close relation to the movements of the surface waters. This is espe- 
cially true in this region, where the water table is ordinarily in the 
unconsolidated, structureless glacial till. This relation is shown by 
the arrows in figure 2. Figure 3 shows a different set of conditions. 
If the rock surface R-R' is considered to represent the surface of 
the earth the movements of the ground waters would be along the 




Figure 3.— Influence of surface slopes and of structure on movements of underground waters. Dotted 
line G-G' is the water table. Broken line R-R' is the rock surface. The water movements in this rock 
are along the bedding planes. The material above the rock is a rather impervious pebbly clay. The 
arrows indicate the direction of the underground water movements. D is a plateau with equal slopes 
toward A and B. On the slope toward B both the clay and rock waters move toward B. Only the 
clay waters move toward A , the rock waters moving in the opposite direction. The waters at H and 
/.independent of the surface topography, move past valley B to valley C. The conditions are favor- 
able for artesian flows from rock wells at B and C if the surface deposits are impervious. 

bedding planes in disregard of the surface slopes. If, however, the 
rock surface is covered to some depth with glacial drift, the upper 
ground waters will move in the same direction as the surface drain- 
age, but the movements of deeper waters will be controlled by the 
structure of the rock. 

IN THE DEEPER ZONES. 

The movements of the deeper underground waters are determined 
by an entirely different set of factors from those which regulate the 
movements near the surface. The most important of these factors 
are the character and the structure of the saturated materials and 
the opportunity for escape of the waters. In very deep waters 
changes of temperature may be the controlling influence in the circu- 
lation, but such deep waters are reached by few wells and are there- 
fore outside the province of this paper. 

The older consolidated rocks which lie under the surface deposits 
contain water in their openings down to the bottom of the deepest 
borings. These rocks all contain a considerable amount of pore 
space, usually less than the unconsolidated materials. These pores 
contain some water, but the movements of the water in the pores is 
usually too slow to furnish wells with suitable supplies. Parallel to 
the beds of many rocks there are sheetlike openings called bedding 
planes. Many of the rocks, though they ma}" be very dense in tex- 
ture, have continuous openings or cracks which cross the bedding 
planes. Such cracks are called joints. From the open and continu- 
ous nature of the joints and bedding planes they form the most 
natural and convenient channels for the movements of underground 
waters and for their storage. In many places abundant supplies of 



MOVEMENTS OF GROUND WATERS. 49 

water are found in deep-lying limestones or sandstones, which are 
separated from the surface of the earth by beds of impervious shales. 
In such places we must look to some distant point for the source of 
the waters — to a place where the water-bearing formation comes to 
the surface or where at least the overlying impervious formation is 
lacking. This point may be scores or even hundreds of miles from 
the point where the water is reached by the wells, and the water 
has traveled the whole distance through the joints, bedding planes, 
and pores of the rock. This is true of a few wells which have 
found their water supply in the porous St. Peter sandstone or the 
underlying sandstones. The nearest point of outcrop of these for- 
mations is far up in Wisconsin and the waters must have come at 
least that distance. 

Although we have certain rock waters whose source is distant, it 
does not necessarily follow that the source of all rock waters is far 
from the point at which they are reached by wells. On the contrary, 
many rock waters are supplied by the precipitation in the imme- 
diate neighborhood of the wells from which the water is drawn. 
This may be true even though the rock does not outcrop at the sur- 
face. If the rock is overlain by porous gravel or gravelly clay the 
water may penetrate through this into the rock and move downward 
into still deeper rocks if there is no intervening impervious bed. 
There can be no question that in this area much of the rock water is in 
this way supplied by the overlying drift to the rock. The "Niagara" 
limestone, which lies immediately below the drift in much of the 
east and central parts of this area (see PI. Ill), yields abundant waters 
to a large number of wells, though it actually outcrops at the surface 
over a very small area. The waters are fed to the limestone by the 
drift above, and many flowing wells along the bottom lands have 
tapped this source of supply. It is impossible to estimate accu- 
rately the time which may have been required by certain deep 
waters to move from their sources to the point where the water now 
issues from the wells. We know only that even with the most favor- 
able conditions — an open, porous, or much fractured and jointed rock, 
with a strong head of water and a free outlet below — the length of 
time the water must have required to travel, say, 100 miles is neces- 
sarily great. With the actual conditions in the St. Peter sand- 
stone — a ratKer porous but not much fractured rock, with con- 
siderable head but no adequate outlet below — the period of time the 
water has been in the rock is without doubt enormous. It even 
seems reasonable to suppose that in some of the deep-lying, im- 
pervious shales a part of the water now found may possibly have 
been there since the sediments were first laid down. 
46448°— wsp 254—10 4 



50 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

OCCURRENCE. 
RELATION TO TOPOGRAPHY. 

Below the earth's surface a level may always be reached at which 
the materials are saturated with water. This saturation may extend 
downward indefinitely, or only to some impervious layer. In either 
case the upper surface of the saturated zone is known as the water 
table. There is an intimate relation between this water table and 
the surface topography, and while the water table usually follows, 
in a general way, the slopes of the surface, it is much less irregular 
and of milder relief. Thus, on hilltops there is a ready drainage on 
all sides, and the waters falling on the surface flow off rapidly as 
surface waters, or entering the soil become ground waters and escape 
more slowly by percolation. The level of the water table is, there- 
fore, farther from the surface on the hilltops than in the lowlands, 
where there is a less ready escape for the ground water and where 
c the surface slopes 

i__ — ^Tll^>^_ e d -. are less conducive 



to rapid run-off. 
Figure 4 indicates 
1 ' the relation of the 

IGTJRE 4.— Diagram showing relation of the water table, II-II' to the proimd- Water table 

surface topography I-I'. The most favorable locations for wells are ° 

at E, A, and B It should be noted that well C, though on much to the Surface slopes, 
higher ground than D, finds water nearer the surface. The arrows These relations 

indicate the direction of the underground water movements. 

are important only 
in their influence on the waters near the surface of the water table. 
The deeper waters are affected by the variations of the water table 
only as these variations either increase or decrease the hydrostatic 
pressure in their own areas. 

RELATION TO STRUCTURE. 

Rock w r aters have certain characteristic methods of occurrence and 
the manner of occurrence in each type of rock is more or less con- 
stant. In general, rock waters are contained in three varieties of 
openings — (1) pores, (2) bedding planes, and (3) joints. Any one 
or all of these classes of openings may become enlarged by solution 
to form continuous channels of considerable extent. 

Pores. — Pores are the minute openings between the imperfectly 
fitting particles of which a rock is composed. In many rocks the 
total amount of water contained in the pores is greater than that 
contained in all the other openings. The pore spaces, however, have 
a remarkable capacity for holding their water and do not commonly 
yield much to wells. 

Bedding planes. — Bedding planes are the sheet-like partings be- 
tween beds of rock that are different in texture or arrangement of 
materials. Bedding planes may be very inconspicuous in fresh rocks, 



OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER. 



51 



but become prominent as soon as the rock is attacked by solution or 
weathering. As a result of the slow percolation of the water along 
the bedding planes the openings may be enlarged by solution until 
passages of considerable size are formed, especially in limestones and 
in calcareous shales. In many sedimentary rocks the bedding planes 
offer the readiest means of circulation to the rock waters and 
therefore furnish the best supplies to wells that penetrate them. 

Joints.— All hard, brittle rocks are traversed by sets of cracks 
formed to relieve stresses which have at some time been set up in the 
rocks. In sedimentary rocks some of these planes of fracture coin- 
cide with the bedding planes and can not be distinguished from 
them. Other sets of cracks may intersect the bedding planes, and 
these, which in this area are usually nearly vertical, are called joints. 
In many rocks the joints offer the easiest means of passage for under- 
ground waters, and some of them are dissolved out to form well- 
defined underground stream courses. Such solution passages have 
a tendency to form at the intersection of a joint with a bedding plane. 
It is a common occurrence with drillers for the drill to " drop " several 
inches, or even a foot or two, into one of these solution cavities. An 
abundant supply of water is generally found in these openings. 



RELATION TO TYPE OF MATERIAL. 
UNCONSOLIDATED DEPOSITS. 



Since the unconsolidated materials contain no definite partings cor- 
responding with the joints and bedding planes of the hard rocks, the 
waters are all contained in the pores. The pores range in size from 
the large openings in coarse gravels to the capillary and subcapillary 
openings in the dense clayey till. As the amount of water available 
for wells depends for the most part upon the size and continuity of 
the pores, the texture of the material determines to a large degree the 
value of any bed as a water producer. The characteristic features 
of the various types of unconsolidated materials and their capacity to 
furnish wells with water have already been discussed. 

CONSOLIDATED DEPOSITS. 

Sandstones.— Most sandstones yield considerable water from their 
pores as well as from their joints and bedding planes, and where 
sandstones are found within a reasonable distance of the surface they 
generally offer a good source for well supplies. In north-central 
Indiana, however, the only notable sandstone deposit is the St. 
Peter, which is a good water producer where accessible but which in 
this region lies so deep that it has been reached by the drill only a 
few times. Some wells in western Boone and Hendricks counties 
are supplied by waters from sandstones of the "Knobstone' ? group. 



52 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Shales. — The shales of this area are fine-gramed rocks which 
are not much indurated. On account of their softness they are 
rather plastic, and the stresses which have fractured the harder 
limestones and sandstones have not had this effect on the shales. 
The impervious character of these shales is unfavorable to the 
circulation of underground waters, and not many solution channels 
are developed in them. Although the pores occupy relatively great 
space, they are too fine to permit the water to escape readily. Hence 
few wells find satisfactory supplies in the shale beds. 

Limestones. — Although limestones contain a relatively small 
amount of pore space, they afford the best source of rock-water 
supply in this region because of their solubility and the conse- 
quent fact that the percolating waters have so widened and 
enlarged the joints and bedding planes as to convert them into open 
channels, through which the water circulates freely when once it has 
penetrated them. Thousands of wells have been drilled into the Silu- 
rian limestones (" Niagara" of well drillers), and very few of them have 
failed to find sufficient water for domestic use. In many places large 
quantities of water are obtained from this limestone for manufac- 
turing purposes and for city supplies. 

VOLUME. 

As already stated, the volume of underground water depends in a 
measure upon the surface configuration of the region. No matter 
how great the precipitation or how great a proportion of this water 
enters the ground, the volume of ground water will not be large unless 
the topography of the region and the character of the materials are 
favorable for holding it. If there is a ready opportunity for the 
waters to escape to the surface again, the water table will be lowered 
as fast as it is augmented from above. For this reason the water 
table in a region of deep valleys aud narrow divides will, on the 
average, be much farther from the surface than in another area of 
similar climate and materials where the general level is little 
dissected by valleys. The greater part of northern Indiana consists 
of till plains of slight relief, and over most of this area the water table 
stands near the surface. 

By available water is meant that water in a formation which is free 
to enter a well sunk near it. This definition excludes a large part 
of the water in very fine-grained materials, such as shales and clays, 
in which the pores are so small that their capillary attraction and 
their lack of continuity prevent the escape of water. In the coarser 
sands and gravels the pores and openings are large and relatively 
more continuous, and nearly all of the water in such coarser deposits 
is available. The amount of available water, therefore, depends 
more upon the texture of the material than on the total amount of 



SPRINGS. 53 

pore space. A clay may contain 25 to 35 per cent of pore space, but 
may yield very little water to wells; a coarser sand, with perhaps 
less pore space, may yield the greater part of its water to wells. 
Sandstones, if porous, will give up much of their content of water. In 
limestones the only water available is that which lies in the well- 
defined joints, bedding planes, and solution channels. The water 
contained in the body of the limestone is not available. 

MINERAL MATTER IN SOLUTION. 

The amount and character of the mineral matter which under- 
ground waters carry depend upon a complex set of conditions. Two 
factors, however, deserve particular discussion because of their 
relative importance. The amount of mineral matter which a ground 
water carries depends (1) on the solubility of the materials through 
which the waters have passed and (2) on the length of time during 
which the water has remained in contact with these materials. The 
solubility of the materials encountered is, perhaps, the most impor- 
tant single factor. Waters passing through salt beds, for example, 
might in a short time become very saline, even to the point of satu- 
ration. Other waters might .remain in pure siliceous sandstones or 
quartzites for ages without acquiring much silica. With regard to 
lime, magnesium, and similar substances with which waters are rarely 
saturated, it is largely the time during which the waters are in con- 
tact with these substances that determines the amounts dissolved, 
though temperature, pressure, and the chemical action of the sub- 
stances in solution upon those encountered are important factors. 
The relations between the character of the rock formations and the 
quality of the waters from them are discussed in the chapter on the 
chemical character of the waters by R. B. Dole (pp. 230-267). 

SPRINGS. 

DRIFT SPRINGS. 

As a result of the coating of glacial deposits which almost com- 
pletely mantles this region, most of the springs that occur through- 
out the area necessarily emerge from the glacial drift. All springs 
that come from these glacial deposits are classified as drift springs. 
It is possible that in some springs the waters are supplied from chan- 
nels in the rock below, but when this could not be determined, the 
waters were classed as coming from the materials out of which they 
emerge. 

For the occurrence of well-defined springs it is necessary that the 
water table should come to the surface and that the surrounding 
water-bearing materials should allow a ready circulation of the waters. 
If the materials are close grained and the circulation is sluggish, the 



54 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 




Figure 5.— Conditions producing springs in glacial drift. 



water will emerge as "seeps" and not as well-defined springs. In 
the drift favorable conditions most commonly occur in the morainic 
areas where there is considerable surface relief, and where there are 
many beds of gravel interbedded with clayey drift. Figure 5 shows 
two conditions in a moraine which would give springs. Spring No. 1 
comes from a gravel lens in the bowlder clay. This lens has no sur- 
face outcrop above, but receives its water slowly from the overlying 
drift. As the water can escape most readily by following the open 

gravel bed to its 
outcrop, spring No. 
1 is formed. Spring 
No. 2 emerges from 
the contact of the 
gravel capping on 
a hilltop with the 
underlying more 
impervious bowlder clay. The water absorbed at the surface passes 
down through the gravel to the clay and follows the contact to its 
outcrop on the hillside, where spring No. 2 is formed. 

ROCK SPRINGS. 

The rock outcrops in this area are almost all located along the sides 
of the deeper valleys, and it is along these valley-side outcrops that 
most of the rock springs are found. The springs issue from just 
above some impervious bed in the limestone, or from some solution 
channel or prominent bedding plane. In some places, especially in 
fresh quarrv exposures, there are flows of water from all the more 
conspicuous bedding planes. (See PL YI, A.) Figure 6 illustrates 
the conditions favorable for rock springs along the valleys. Bed No. 
1 is till' No. 2 is a fractured and somewhat weathered limestone over- 
Iving an impervious shale, No. 3. Springs will issue at A and A'. 
Beds Nos. 4 5, and 6 are limestone. Between beds 4 and 5 there is the 
opening of a large solution passage, and a large spring discharges at B' . 

In unglaciated lime- 
stone regions the upper 
portion of the limestone 
is in many places so 
honeycombed by solu- 
tion caverns and pass- 
ages that surface 




Figure 6.— Conditions producing springs in rocks. 



streams of large volume may disappear into these underground 
channels, to reappear at a distance as large springs. In northern 
Indiana there may once have been many such underground streams ; 
but the erosion of the glaciers removed the more open upper surface 
of the limestone, and the larger underground channels have not yet 



WELLS. 55 

been reestablished. For these reasons the rock springs are all rather 
small as compared with those of unglaciated areas. 

W. S. Blatchley has published a report on the mineral waters of 
Indiana , a which includes descriptions and analyses of several springs 
and mineral wells in north-central Indiana. 

WELLS. 

METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 

OPEN WELLS. 

Description. — Open wells are commonly 3 or 4 feet in diameter and 
15 to 30 feet deep, though a number ranging from 50 to 70 feet were 
found. They are ordinarily walled up with brick or broken rock, 
without cement or mortar, so that water can enter from any bed 
through which the well passes. The depth is determined by the 
abundance of the water encountered. The deepening is usually con- 
tinued until the water comes in so rapidly that digging is impossible, 
when the wall is' laid. Most well diggers can tell of experiences with 
wells in which little water was found until suddenly a porous gravel 
or a passage in the clay was opened from which the water poured so 
rapidly that the well could not be walled up. It may be necessary 
to fill such a well with broken rock for several feet before a wall can 
be started. 

Disadvantages. — Open wells often "go dry" in dry seasons, when 
the need for water is greatest. This is always possible unless the 
well bottom is below the permanent water table and in a material 
which yields a continual and readily available supply. Open wells 
are subject to contamination, both from above and below ground. 
The only protection usually afforded to wells above is a board plat- 
form. Constant wetting and drying usually causes the boards to 
warp and shrink, leaving cracks between them. The drippings from 
the spout upon the well top carry down into the well whatever 
accumulations there are of dirt from shoes, domestic fowls, or other 
sources. In the country the farm well is the congregating place for 
domestic animals. The waste water allowed to run over the ground 
near by carries down with it any soluble material it may find and 
reenters the well. 

Many open wells are polluted from below the surface. The liquid 
materials from cesspools and the drainage from manure piles, chicken 
yards, and manured fields enters the ground and becomes part of the 
body of underground water upon which the wells depend. In open 
wells this polluted water from above can enter at the top of the water 
table as well as the purer water below. 

a Blatchley, W. S., Mineral waters of Indiana: Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and 
Nat. Res., 1901. Halsall Spring, near Maxwell, Hancock County, p. 57; Cartersburg Mineral Spring, near 
Cartersburg, Hendricks County, p. 60; Winona Mineral Springs, at Winona Lake, Kosciusko County, p. 69. 



56 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

BORED WELLS. 

Bored wells are by no means rare, but are far less common than 
either of the other two types. They are bored with an auger and 
lined with tile or wood. The joints in some such wells are filled with 
cement, but are likely to leak, as the cement must be put in before the 
tile is lowered into the boring. They have been found to be less 
satisfactor}^ than the driven or drilled wells. 

DRIVEN AND DRILLED WELLS. 

General description. — Up to the last decade the dug or open well 
was the type most commonly used for domestic purposes, both in 
towns and rural districts. With the ditching of low or marshy tracts 
and the decrease in the acreage of timber lands, the water table has 
gradually become lower. Within the memory of many older residents 
the water table in certain areas has been lowered from 5 or 6 feet 
below the surface to 15 or 20 feet below. In these areas dug wells 
which for years furnished an unfailing supply of water are now dry for 
the greater part of the year. A more general knowledge of the proper 
sanitary conditions for wells has also led to the abandonment of 
many dug wells. To replace the unsatisfactory open wells, thousands 
of driven and drilled wells have been put in and a large number of men 
now make a profession of drilling or driving them. Throughout the 
area as a whole the drilled and driven wells now considerably out- 
number the open wells. They are much smaller than the open wells 
and range in diameter from \\ to 8, 10, or even 12 inches. At least 
nine-tenths of them are 2 inches or less in diameter. The wells con- 
sist of a tightly jointed iron pipe sunk into the earth to a water-bear- 
ing bed. If this bed is a loose material, such as sand or gravel, a 
strainer or screen is placed over the lower end of the pipe to keep the 
gravel or sand out of the well. If the well is in rock the pipe is left 
uncovered below. 

Driven wells. — Driven wells are those which are made by driving a 
pipe into the loose surface deposits without first making a hole for the 
pipe to go into. They can be sunk only in unconsolidated materials 
and never go into rock. To make the pipe drive more easily and to 
keep it from filling up with loose material, a conical brass point, full of 
fine perforations, is fastened to the lower end. There are many 
methods of driving the pipe, varying from the wooden hand maul 
to a steam-driven trip hammer, the method used depending on the 
depth and character of material to be penetrated. 

The driven wells are especially adapted to areas of valle} r alluvium, 
of gravelly outwash, or of till or morainic drift in which there are 
gravelly or sandy layers. Many can be driven in a few hours and at 
very little expense. No pollution can get into the well from above 
and water is drawn only from the deepest and usually the safest 



WELLS. 57 

water bed. Many driven wells show a decrease in supply after a 
few years' use, due to corrosion or clogging of the screen. The pipe 
can usually be pulled at small expense, the screen cleaned or replaced, 
and the well redriven, with a renewal of the original supply. 

Drilled wells. — Drilled wells are made by first drilling a hole and 
then driving a pipe into it. The hole is commonly made with a 
wedge-shaped drill driven by a steam engine. Plate V, A, shows a 
common type of well rig used in this area. Under the classification 
of drilled wells comes a type of well made by forcing water or steam 
under high pressure through a pipe into the loose surface deposits, 
and forcing the pipe down constantly as the materials below are 
washed out of the top with the water, or forced out by the steam. 
This process is often called jetting, and sometimes the wells are called 
driven wells. Still another process is a combination of the jet and 
the drill. The drill, with a small opening on either side just above 
the cutting edge, is jointed to an iron pipe. Through this pipe water 
is constantly forced into the well, and the materials loosened by the 
drill and the streams of water are carried out of the well top by the 
water. 

Drilled wells are the prevailing type in areas where the rock waters 
are the chief source of supply. On the till plains the tough clays in 
some places prevent the driving of deep wells and there drilled w 7 ells 
are more common. The bowlders embedded in the till will stop a 
driven well, but the drill can cut through them. In any material 
in which it is necessary to go to a depth of 100 feet or more the wells 
are usually drilled. 

Drilled wells that end in unconsolidated materials are provided 
with a screen, let down on the inside of the casing after the well is 
completed. A common method is to lower a screen, 3 or 4 feet long, 
to the well bottom and then to pull back the casing far enough to 
expose the screen. 

COMBINATION WELLS. 

A combination of the dug and driven or of the dug and drilled wells 
is very common. Many dug wells that fail in dry seasons, or for 
other reasons have proved unsatisfactory, are deepened by driving 
or drilling. In such wells care should be taken to continue the 
casing up through the well to the surface to prevent the dug- well 
waters from entering the driven or drilled wells. Wells drilled into 
the bottom of dug wells are likely to receive some water from the 
old well, unless the casing fits the hole very snugly. It is recom- 
mended that when these combination wells are made the dug portion 
of the well should be filled up with clean clay. This will prevent 
any possible pollution of the deeper waters by those from the old well. 



58 UNDER GROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

FLOWING WELLS. 
ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS. 

In many areas in north-central Indiana the waters in certain beds 
are under sufficient artesian pressure to cause them to flow at the 
surface without pumping. These flowing wells are much prized, as 
they furnish a continual supply of fresh water for city, domestic, or 
farm uses. Plate IV shows the areas in which flowing wells have 
been obtained. 

The conditions necessary for artesian flow were defined a number 
of years ago by T. C. Chamberlin. a These conditions apply both to 
the flows from rock wells and to those from surface deposits, and are 
as follows: 

1. A pervious stratum to permit the entrance and. the passage of water. 

2. A water-tight bed below to prevent the escape of the water downward. 

3. A like impervious bed above to prevent the escape upward, for the water, being 
under pressure from the fountain head, would otherwise find relief in that direction. 

4. An inclination of these beds, so that the edge at which the waters enter will be 
higher than the surface at the well. 

5. A suitable exposure of the edge of the porous stratum, so that it may take in a 
sufficient supply of water. 

6. An adequate rainfall to furnish this supply. 

7. An absence of any escape for the water at a lower level than the surface of the 
well. 

A recent paper of M. L. Fuller b has added a number of modifica- 
tions to the requisite conditions of artesian flow as outlined by 
Chamberlin. 

In many wells which do not flow the water rises under artesian 
pressure, but not to the top. In these the conditions are the same 
as for flowing wells, except that the pressure is not adequate 
to raise the water to the surface. In both kinds the waters are 
under artesian pressure, but in this report only those areas in which 
actual flowing wells are found are mapped as artesian areas. In the 
region treated in this report there are two distinct types of flowing 
wells — (a) those whose water is derived from surface deposits, and 
(b) those whose water is derived from rock. 

IN SURFACE DEPOSITS. 

Most flowing wells in surface deposits reach their supply in gravel 
beds in the moraines, in the till, or in fluvioglacial outwash plains 
below the moraines. In figure 7, A is a well sunk to a lens of gravel 
in moraine. The fountain head of the water is at the outcrop of 
this gravel bed higher up on the moraine. The area in which flowing 

a Requisite and qualifying conditions of artesian wells: Fifth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1885, 
pp. 125-173. 
b Summary of the controlling factors of artesian flows: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey Xo. 319, 1908. 



V 



o+s 



-¥■ 



6 & 



-ti: 



,CMi 



10) 



_.lSe 







MAP OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA 

.SHOWING ARTESIAN WELL AREAS 
BY STEPHEN K. OAPPS 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 254 PLATE V 




A. COMMON TYPE OF WELL-DRILLING RIG. 




B. SOLUTION CHANNELS IN NtAGARA LIMESTONE. 



WELLS. 



59 



wells might be obtained is very small. In the well at the water 
would rise under artesian pressure almost to the surface, but would 




Figure 7.— Conditions that yield artesian flows in moraines and in outwash gravels. 

not flow. Flowing well B, on the outwash plain, taps a gravel bed 
between two impervious clay beds. The head for the water comes 




Figure 8.— Conditions of flow in alluvial gravels with head supplied from the drift gravels. Artesian 
waters are found in alluvial gravel by well W, and the head is supplied by an irregular gravel bed in the 
drift. Flows may also be obtained by wells at W from the drift gravels. G-G' , water table. 

from the gravel outcrop at the base of the moraine. Wells any- 
where on the plain around B would get flowing water. 




Figure 9.— Conditions of flow in alluvial gravels with head supplied from the limestone. G-G', water 
table. Water for wells W, W is supplied to the gravel by the limestone, which receives the water from 
the till. 

Figure 8 shows conditions in which wells in valley alluvium may 
find flowing waters, the head being supplied from the surface deposits; 
in figure 9 the head of water is supplied from the limestone. 

IN ROCK. 

In the part of this area which lies south of Wabash River there 
are in every county numerous wells that penetrate rock. North of 




Figure 10.— Conditions that yield artesian flows in rocks. 

the Wabash the surface deposits are very deep and few wells go 
through them. In all parts of the area, however, the wells that 



60 UNDERGROUND ' WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

go deep into the Silurian limestones (" Niagara") encounter water 
under artesian pressure. This pressure is generally not sufficient to 
give flows in the uplands, but in the river valleys many deep wells 
get flowing waters from these rocks. The question naturally arises 
as to the source of the waters. Most writers in discussing flows from 
rock ascribe the source of head to some higher outcrop of the water- 
bearing formation at a point where it can receive the rainfall directly 
or from pervious overlying beds. In applying such an interpretation 
to the flows from rock in parts of this area grave difficulties are 
encountered, and the ordinary hypothesis seems to fail. The oppor- 
tunities for water to enter the " Niagara" limestone at distant and 
higher outcrops are outlined below. 

At a point 7 miles east of Richmond, Ind., the "Niagara" has an 
elevation of almost 1,200 feet above sea level, but is covered by 25 
to 50 feet of drift. At Richmond, at an elevation of about 950 feet, 
this limestone comes to the surface on the sides of the canyon-like 
valley of the East Fork of Whitewater River, but the cliff-like out- 
crops are unfavorably situated for absorbing large quantities of sur- 
face waters. Between this high outcrop and the flowing wells above 
mentioned there is a distance of about 50 miles, throughout the 
whole of which distance the "Niagara" lies immediately below the 
drift. The drift itself varies so in texture that it can hardly be sup- 
posed to form an impervious covering for the limestone for so long a 
distance. 

The Richmond area lies on the flank of the Cincinnati arch, from 
which the rocks all dip to the west. It may be that waters entering 
near the base of the Niagara at Richmond and flowing westward 
along the gently dipping bedding planes pass beneath impervious 
shale beds and accumulate enough head to supply flowing wells in 
the lowlands. The possibilities of flows from this source are illus- 
trated in figure 10. A is the covering of glacial deposits; B is the 
1 1 Niagara ' ' limestone with its interbedded shales. The surface waters, 
entering the base of the limestone at F, pass downward under an 
impervious shale bed. A well at G will find water under artesian 
pressure, but owing to loss of head from friction the well will not flow. 
Well D, in the lowlands, gets flowing water. At well E the waters 
have entered the limestone through the thin drift toward G, but the 
thick drift of the valley has prevented their escape, and a flow is 
obtained in the upper part of the limestone. The flows from the 
" Niagara' ? are all found in the deeper valleys or in depressions some- 
what below the level reached by the surrounding surface deposits, 
and the head is generally not more than a few feet above the surface. 
In certain wells the flowing waters are procured from below impervi- 
ous shale beds, or "breaks" in the limestone, and in these wells the 
head of the waters is probably transmitted from a distance. (See 



WELLS. 



61 



fig. 10.) In most wells, however, the flows are from the upper part 
of the limestone, and such a distant source for the waters seems 
improbable. 

The head for most of the flows from rock seems to be furnished by 
the heavy overlying mantle of glacial drift. In the drift the water 
table stands high above the valley bottoms, and even where the trans- 
mission of water from the drift to the rock is slow a constant pres- 
sure may Jbe maintained in the rock waters if there is no ready escape 
for them. Wells tapping such a rock supply may obtain flows if they 
are situated in the deeper valleys or at the foot of the drift hills. 
Figure 1 1 shows the conditions for flow in such an area. 

Most of the deep wells which obtain flowing waters from great 
depths were drilled originally for gas or oil. In these wells an outer 
casing or drive pipe, usually 8 inches in diameter, is driven down to 
the surface of the rock, and within this pipe a 6-inch casing is carried 
down to the bottom of the " Niagara" to shut out the water from that 
rock. The flowing waters, if such are encountered in the limestone, 
come up between the drive pipe and the casing. When no oil or gas 



WT : 




-WT 



Figure 11.— Conditions for artesian flows in limestone, with head supplied by the overlying drift. WT is 
the water table. The water percolates slowly into the limestone from the drift and at A is under pres- 
sure from the hydrostatic column between A and A'. The pressure is transmitted through the open 
bedding planes and joints to B, and well IFobtains an artesian flow. 

is found or when the supplies fail the casing and drive pipes are as a 
rule pulled. Pulled wells are required by state laws to be plugged 
below the limestone to prevent the interchange of waters between 
the " Trenton" and the " Niagara." In many flowing wells the 
drive pipe is left in and the well used to supply water. 

LOCATION OF FLOWING WELLS. 

It is often difficult to predict just where artesian wells can be 
had, and no general statement will cover all parts of this area. 
It can only be said that wells in depressions or at the base of high 
moraines are more likely to obtain flows than those on higher ground. 

The areas in which flowing wells from rock are obtainable are 
usually long, narrow belts occupying the bottoms of the larger val- 
leys. Most flowing wells from surface deposits are due to local 
conditions, which are confined to small areas. The map (PI. IV) 
gives the location and outlines of the areas in which flowing wells 
have been obtained. Future borings will doubtless modify the out- 



62 UXDEEGECUrXD WATERS OF XOETH-CEXTBAL IXDIAXA. 

lines of certain of the districts, enlarging some and reducing others. 
Probably some entirely new flowing-well districts may be found. 
The map has been compiled from the fullest data obtainable at 
this time. 

LIFTIXG DEVICES. 

Bucket and windlass. — A few open wells from which the water is 
drawn by buckets on a windlass are still in use. The owners of such 
wells are commonly convinced that water drawn in this way is superior 
in taste to that taken from a pump. There is always danger from 
pollution, however, in these wells by small animals or other objection- 
able matter entering the well mouth. A tight well cover should 
always be put in place when water is not being drawn. 

Siphon. — The siphon principle may locally be utilized when run- 
ning water is desired at some point below the level at which the 
water stands in a well. This system is used at the Kokomo city 
waterworks. A number of wells are drained by a siphon into a large 
well at the waterworks. The water is pumped directly from this 
large well. 

Pumps. — Of the many pumps of various makes and kinds on the 
market, the greater number are so simple and so familiar as to 
need no description. For shallow wells the iron pitcher pump with 
the valve near the spout is much used. For open wells of moderate 
depths the wooden pump is popular. Most of the deeper dug. driven, 
or drilled wells for household and farm uses are equipped with iron 
force pumps with the valve below the water level. Some of these 
pumps are connected to windmills and may be pumped either by hand 
or by wind power. Factories, city waterworks, and large users of 
water in general employ water pumps operated by steam, gas. or 
gasoline. The chief types of power pumps are the reciprocating steam 
pumps, the air lifts, and the gasoline engines of various makes. Hot- 
air engines have also been used to some extent. 

Hydraulic rams. — Throughout the area here discussed, but especi- 
ally in the country districts, there are many flowing wells of good 
head and volume from which only a small fraction of the flow is used. 
If the pressure of these wells is sufficient to raise the water a few feet 
above the surface, or if there is a decline of the surface near the well, 
a hydraulic ram can be installed which will pump sufficient water for 
domestic and farm uses. The efficiency of hydraulic rams has been 
observed to vary from 30 to 71 per cent. That is. a ram at a well 
with a head of 10 feet and a flow of 10 gallons a minute will lift from 
3 to 7 gallons a minute to a height of 10 feet, or 0.3 to 0.7 gallon to a 
height of 100 feet. Many houses in small towns or in the country 
are supplied with running water in this way, and water systems 
could be installed in many more at a small initial expense. The 
cost of maintenance of such a system is exceedingly small. In Xew 



PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 63 

Palestine, Hancock County, there is a privately owned water system, 
supplied by artesian wells and pumped by a hydraulic ram, which 
furnishes water to 20 or 30 families. 

PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 

In the area under discussion there are 54 towns and cities which 
have public water supplies drawing waters from surface streams, 
lakes, wells, springs, or a combination of wells and streams, as follows: 

Source of public supplies in towns and cities. 

From lakes 3 

From streams 3 

From wells 44 

From springs 1 

From streams and wells 3 

Of the public systems 48 out of 54 obtain all or part of their water 
from underground sources, 

RELATIVE MERITS OF SOURCES. 
SURFACE WATER. 

In all regions as thickly settled as north-central Indiana the larger 
surface streams are sure to be contaminated to some extent, and the 
pollution may enter the streams in a number of ways. If towns or 
cities are located along the banks of a stream, the sewage is dis- 
charged into it. If there are no municipalities along the stream 
course, the drainage from dwellings and from manured fields or pas- 
tures is almost certain to supply objectionable organic matter. The 
salty or oily waters from the wells in oil or gas regions also are turned 
into the natural drainage channels. Even in the absence of sewage 
the streams all become turbid after every rain storm, so that for 
some time the water in its raw state is unfit for use. 

The three cities which use river water altogether are Logansport, 
Anderson, and Mishawaka. The waters at Logansport and Masha- 
waka are unfiltered, and therefore subject to contamination. A fil- 
tration system has been installed at Anderson, and the filtered water 
is greatly superior to the raw water. At Indianapolis, Peru, and 
Goshen part of the water supply is from wells and the rest from 
streams. At Indianapolis White River water, used only after filtra- 
tion, is very good. At Peru the water is ostensibly supplied from 
wells, but inasmuch as a considerable proportion of raw river water 
is constantly pumped into the mains the supply must be considered 
a serious menace to the health of the city. Part of the city water of 
Goshen is supplied from Rock Run, which flows for some distance 
through the town, having on its banks dwellings, barns, and out- 
houses that unquestionably pollute the water. 



64 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Other things being equal, lakes are less likely to become contam- 
inated than rivers, for their length of shore line is much shorter, as 
compared with the volume of water, than that of streams, and almost 
all pollution enters surface waters from the shores. It is, moreover, 
much easier to guard the shores of a lake from pollution than to con- 
trol conditions along the banks of a stream which traverses a con- 
siderable stretch of country. 

Three of the 54 municipalities are supplied from lakes. These are 
Warsaw, Rochester, and Syracuse. Center Lake, the source of sup- 
ply at Warsaw, lies at the edge of the town, and the character of the 
water is questionable. The water from Rochester Lake at Rochester 
is itself of fair purity, but it becomes polluted in its passage through 
a mile-long mill race in the town. The conditions at Syracuse are 
much the same as at Rochester. Syracuse and Turkey lakes are 
bordered by extensive marshes, and the water is noticeably colored 
by organic matter, besides being exposed to contamination in its 
passage from the lake to the pumps through an open mill race. To 
summarize, in every instance in this area in which surface water is 
used for a public supply the water in a raw state is unsafe. In two 
instances it has, by careful filtration, been purified and converted 
into a very satisfactory supply. 

The surface waters are superior to underground waters for many 
industrial purposes, because they contain a much smaller proportion 
of incrustants. This lower mineralization makes them especially 
desirable for locomotive-boiler supplies and for steaming purposes in 
general. On the other hand, the lower temperature of the ground 
waters especially recommends them for cooling purposes in brewing, 
distilling, and ice manufacture. 

WELLS. 

Of the 44 public supplies in which well water is used altogether or 
in part it is probably true that the worst of the well waters is as 
good as or better than the best of the surface waters mentioned above, 
in the raw state. Most of the well supplies are greatly superior to 
the surface supplies, at least with regard to their healthfulness. The 
wells at public waterworks are usually drilled deep in order to secure 
large quantities of water, and waters from deep beds are much less 
likely to be polluted than waters from near the surface. The wells for 
public supplies can be located at a distance from possible sources of 
contamination, and the ground around the wells can be guarded to 
prevent unhealthful conditions. 

In a few towns in this area the wells for the public supply are 
shallow and are surrounded by barns, buildings, and dwellings, with 
the accompanying manure piles, slops, and privy vaults. It is a 
curious fact that people who are ordinarily careful about their habits 



PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 65 

of life should be careless about so vital a thing as the condition of 
their drinking water. Typhoid fever, one of the most dreaded forms 
of sickness in this area, is caused by the transfer of the infection from 
a typhoid patient into the alimentary system of another person. 
Contagion is spread largely through the pollution of drinking water 
by sewage which carries the typhoid-fever bacillus. Above all 
things a public water supply should be protected from this danger. 
Wells to be absolutely safe should be drilled or driven to a consider- 
able depth, 50 or 60 feet at least, and should be lined with a tightly 
jointed iron pipe to keep out all the waters except those at the well 
bottom. Commonly, the deeper the well is the safer the water. If 
the wells are located at a distance from buildings or other sources of 
sewage, the danger is reduced to a minimum. In a few places it has 
been found to be impossible to obtain sufficient water from deep 
drilled or driven wells. Fairly safe waters may be obtained, as at 
Elkhart, from open dug wells if a considerable area of land around 
the wells is reserved and carefully guarded. Open wells should be 
several hundred feet from the nearest outhouse and carefully pro- 
tected from surface wash to be safe from pollution. 

SPRINGS. 

Springs furnish the water for only one public supply in this region. 
At Delphi excellent springs emerge from a gravel terrace 3 miles 
northeast of the city, and the city waterworks collect this water and 
supply it to the people. There is every reason to believe that this 
supply is pure and good, but the common idea, that all springs are 
pure, is by no means true. Springs are subject to exactly the same 
dangers of pollution as wells. The waters are the same as those 
secured from wells, the only distinction being that springs have a 
natural instead of an artificial outlet. If the waters issue from shal- 
low depths in towns or below manured pastures, near outhouses 
or barnyards, they should be avoided with the same care as should 
similarly situated dug wells. 

CARE OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES. 

When sanitary conditions are assured for the wells at public water- 
works, it is still essential that care should be taken to avoid all danger 
of pollution of the waters while they are stored and before their dis- 
tribution through the mains. There is no danger of such pollution 
in tight iron standpipes which are covered over. Covered wooden 
tanks are also safe. Open tanks will receive slight deposits of dust 
and possibly some pollution from birds and insects, but this is likely 
to be of negligible quantity. Open reservoirs should be carefully 
guarded to prevent the entrance of surface waters or of sewage by 
46448°— wsp 254—10 5 



66 UXDERGKOUXD WATERS OF XORTH-CEXTRAL INDIANA. 

underground circulation. Cement-lined reservoirs are safe except 
from surface wash and from dust and dead animals. The amount 
of dust should be unimportant and other pollution can be avoided 
by proper care. Cisterns, if tight, are safe, and if the surface of the 
stored water is kept above the level of the ground-water table any 
leakage from cracks will be outward from the cistern. Cisterns below 
the water table should be inspected as often as possible in order that 
means may be adopted to prevent the entrance from without of 
waters through cracks or flaws in the masonry. 

In water mains in which the water is under pressure the pressure 
from within the pipes is much greater than that from without, and 
any defect in the pipes will cause a leak outward. No water from 
without can by any chance get into a high-pressure pipe. TVhere 
the water flows by gravity from one well to another, or where suction 
is used to draw water from wells or reservoirs a loose joint or hole 
in the mains might permit the entrance of sewage from without. 
Constant care is necessary to avoid such a contingency. 

PTJBUC AND PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF WATER SUPPLIES. 

The obvious advantage of public water supplies over private wells 
is -their greater convenience. With the constant pressure main- 
tained in a municipal system, running water can be had at any time 
wherever it has been piped. Furthermore, there is the important 
advantage of abundant water and high pressure for protection from 
fire. But beside these two commonly recognized advantages, there 
is the all-important one, the health of the consumers, to be con- 
sidered. In thickly settled communities, and especially in towns 
that have no sewerage system, a great quantity of liquid sewage 
is constantly soaking into the ground, some of which finds its 
way to the shallow wells used for drinking water. Such a con- 
dition is unpleasant to contemplate and extremely dangerous, but 
strangely enough it exists in most towns. Each well owner is sure 
that his water is the best in the world. He is accustomed to it, and 
it tastes just right to him. Yet examination of the water may show 
it to be heavily polluted. The best solution of the water problem 
is a carefully planned public supply. Wherever they are possible, 
deep driven or drilled wells are recommended. They should be 
located as far as possible from any source of pollution, and if prac- 
ticable should be drilled to some water-bearing bed below an imper- 
vious bed of clay. These conditions should give a water supply 
far superior in every way to that obtained from shallow private wells- 

Of the 54 public water supplies of this region, 19 are owned by 
private individuals cr companies: 2 by the United States Govern- 
ment (at the National Military Home near Marion, and at Fort 



PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 67 

Benjamin Harrison); and the remaining 33 by the different munici- 
palities. 

There are certain advantages, both in municipal and in private 
ownership. The principal arguments in favor of private ownership 
of public water supplies are as follows: 

1. The officials of a private water company do not hold office by 
political favor, but their connection with the business is permanent 
and their interest in and knowledge of the details is proportionately 
great. 

2. As a result of better business methods, the cost of running a 
water plant is usually less in private than in public concerns. 

3. The installation of improvements by a private company is sim- 
pler and does not require the tedious city-council legislation often 
necessary for such expenditures in a municipal system. 

4. It is to the advantage of a private company to furnish as good 
and as cheap a supply as possible, in order to encourage the use of 
the system. 

On the other hand, there are many advantages in a system owned 
by the town or city : 

1. It is not necessary in a municipal system to charge enough for 
the water to pay a dividend on the capital invested. 

2. In private companies there is always the tendency to insist that 
the water is pure, no matter what the actual conditions are. In 
municipal supplies there is a better opportunity for knowing the 
actual condition of the water. 

3. It is not necessary, with a municipal supply, to postpone improve- 
ments until there is a sufficient increase in the receipts of the company 
to insure dividends on the cost of extension. 

4. As the public officers hold their positions at the will of the people, 
there is a tendency for them to furnish as good a water supply as 
possible at a fair rate. 

For these and other reasons municipal ownership of public water- 
works has proved more satisfactory than private ownership in the 
area under discussion, as shown by the proportion of 33 to 19. 



68 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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70 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS. 
BOONE COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Boone County comprises 427 square miles and in 1900 had a 
population of 26,321, or 61 people to the square mile. Lebanon, 
the count v seat, is in the center of the county. 25 miles northwest of 
Indianapolis. 

This county extends along the divide between White and Wabash 
rivers and includes the highest land in Indiana west of White River. 
The surface has an elevation of 825 to 975 feet, or a range of approxi- 
mately 150 feet (PI. I). The greater part of the surface consists, 
of slightly undulating uplands unbroken by any notable irregu- 
larities of surface. Across this plain and crossing the area from 
southeast to northwest is a narrow belt of low irregular hills. A 
part of another belt, of much the same character, crosses the south- 
west corner of the county. As usual in till-plain areas there is an 
almost complete absence of natural lakes or ponds. There are a 
few artificial ponds, used for stock, but the county as a whole is well 
drained. 

The county contains no large streams. Eagle Creek flows along 
the eastern edge, and in the neighborhood of Zionsville its valley is 
about 60 feet below. the level of the uplands. Sugar Creek, in the 
northwest corner, has also a well-developed valley. The other 
streams are still smaller and flow from 10 to 30 feet below the level 
of the upland. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATEE. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Immediately below the surface in Boone County unconsolidated 
deposits winch vary in thickness from 25 to more than 200 feet are 
everywhere present. They consist of alluvium, morainic drift, and 
pebbly till, and most of the wells draw their supplies from these 
materials. A general discussion of the character and water supplies 
of the surface deposits is given on pages 27-35. 

The alluvial deposits are limited to the valleys of Sugar and Eagle 
creeks and to the flats of the still smaller streams. Their total area 
can not be more than a few square miles. 

The moraines of this county (see PL I) are not of great height or 
thickness. In the moraine areas satisfactory wells can almost every- 
where be obtained at moderate depths. The porous character of 
the deposits enables them to store large quantities of water and to 
yield it readily to wells. It is ordinarily not necessary to go through 
the drift into the underlying rock for sufficient water supplies. 



liOONE COUNTY. 71 

The larger portion of the county is a level till plain. The till 
ranges from 25 to 300 feet in thickness, notwithstanding the fact 
that its surface is flat and plainlike (PL II). This variation in 
thickness is due to the irregular surface of the underlying rock. 
The glacial ice moved over this surface and deposited enough detrital 
matter to fill the depressions and to level over the whole area. 

The water moves very slowly through the fine-grained till, and to 
obtain it loosely curbed wells of large wall area have been much used. 
Of late years most of the open wells have been abandoned. It has 
been found that deep driven or drilled wells will almost certainly 
strike porous gravel beds in the till, and the gravel water so obtained 
is so much better and the supply so much more abundant than that 
from the clay that many people have preferred to bear the additional 
expense of sinking a deep well rather than to put in a cheaper shallow 
dug well. Drillers have been so successful in finding water in the 
till that few wells have gone through it into the rock. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

As stated above, the underlying rock formations are everywhere 
covered in this county by surface deposits, and no outcrops occur. 
Our knowledge of their distribution is derived altogether from com- 
parisons with known outcrops in neighboring areas and from the 
records of well drillings. The probable distribution of the geologic 
formations is shown on Plate III. 

The "Knobstone" group lying immediately below fehe till, in the 
west and southwest portions of the county, consists of limestones, 
sandstones, and shales. As a result of their superior hardness these 
rocks withstood the preglacial and glacial erosional agencies much 
better than the underlying New Albany shale. Wherever the " Knob- 
stone" beds remain, they rise within 40 to 60 feet of the present sur- 
face. The older, less resistant shale has been deeply eroded beyond 
the edge of the "Knobstone," which, if the glacial materials were 
removed, would stand up as a sharp escarpment 100 to 200 feet 
above the shales to the east. 

Over most of the areas underlain by the "Knobstone" the till has 
furnished sufficient water for domestic use. A few wells at James- 
town, Advance, Max, and in that part of the county south of Lebanon, 
have encountered a limestone 40 to 70 feet below the surface, which 
wherever penetrated has yielded abundant waters within a few feet of 
its top. 

The New Albany shale underlies the surface deposits in all of cen- 
tral and eastern Boone County except the extreme northeastern 
corner (PI. III). Although it is everywhere covered with till to a 
depth of 100 to 300 feet, this close-grained blue or black shale has been 
entered by the drill at many points. It contains much water, but it is 



72 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

so fine-textured that wells procure little or none. The formation is 
also too deep to be easily reached by the ordinary well-drilling rig. 

Below the Xew Albany shale are two Devonian limestone formations 
known as the Sellersburg limestone and the Jeffersonville limestone, 
which are believed to outcrop below the drift in the extreme north- 
east corner of the county (PI. III). The overlying drift is about 200 
feet deep in this locality, and no records could be found of wells which 
have gone deeply into the rocks. Xo water is now drawn from them, 
and in Boone Count}' it has yet to be determined whether these lime- 
stones contain available waters for wells. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

In Boone County there are six separate areas in which flowing wells 
have been found. In Plate IV these areas have been outlined and 
numbered. 

In the northwest corner of Boone County, between Thorntown and 
Colfax, there is a narrow area about 4 miles in length, east and west, 
in which flowing wells may be obtained in the lowlands. (PL IV, No. 
2.) These wells yield moderately and obtain their water in gravel at 
a depth of about 80 feet. 

In the east edge of Thorntown, on the flat of Prairie Creek, there 
is a flowing well on the property of Mr. Samuel Jett. (PI. IV, Xo. 
3.) This well, which is 900 feet deep, was drilled in 1887 for gas, but 
gas was not found in paying quantities. In drilling an abundant sup- 
ply of water was encountered in a gravel bed at a depth of about 90 
feet. The drive pipe was drawn back to this bed and the well was 
plugged at 95 feet. It is reported that the well when first drilled 
would spout an 8-inch jet of water 7 feet above the well mouth. This 
indicates a flow of over 3,000 gallons per minute. The top of the well 
has now been plugged, leaving a small opening that leads to a hy- 
draulic ram, which pumps abundant water for the house and barn. 
For a record of this well see page 76, No. 9, and for analysis of the 
water see page 77, Xo. 4. A number of the deeper wells in Thorntown, 
30 feet above the creek flat, get water under artesian pressure, but 
they do not flow. It seems almost certain that other flowing wells 
might be obtained in the creek bottom both above and below Mr. 
Jett's well. 

Between Lebanon and Hazelrig, along a low morainic plain and in 
the valley of Prairie Creek, is an area in which a number of wells that 
flow have been sunk. (PL IV, No. 4.) The flows were obtained in 
beds of gravel or coarse sand at a depth of about 50 feet. The yield 
of the wells is small and is growing more feeble with the general low- 
ering of the water table. 

Mr. J. F. Kersey, a well driller of Lebanon, reports that a flowing 
well was obtained north of Whitelick, on the farm of Mr. W. John- 



BOONE COUNTY. 



73 



ston. (PL IV, No. 5.) This well was reported to be 60 feet deep and 
to have flowed 30 gallons per minute when first drilled. No' further 
information was obtainable. 

A flowing well is reported in the valley of Eagle Creek, on the farm 
of Mr. Perry Moore, 2 1 miles northwest of Zionsville. (PL IV, No. 
6.) This well is 81 feet deep and its water comes from a bed of sand 
and gravel in the glacial till. The water rises in the pipe 6 feet above 
the surface, and the flow is about 1 gallon per minute. It is probable 
that the area in which flowing wells may be procured is small. 

SUPPLY FOR THE CITY OF LEBANON. 

Lebanon, the county seat of Boone County, had in 1900 a popula- 
tion of 4,465, and is the only city in this county which has a public 
water supply. The supply for the waterworks, which are owned by 
the city and were built in 1894, was originally from three wells. One 
of these is a dug well 20 feet in diameter and 43 feet deep. It has a 
cement wall and receives all its water from a gravel bed at the bottom. 
The other original wells were 97 and 230 feet deep, and both received 
their supply from gravel beds. Since the plant was built four more 
wells, 8 inches in diameter and 97 feet deep, have been drilled, and one 
well was sunk to a depth of 816 feet. The materials penetrated by 
this well were as follows : 

Partial log of deep well at Lebanon ivaterivorlcs . 



Thick- 
ness. 



Depth. 



Soil 

Clay 

Gravel 

Stiff clay. . 

Gravel 

Stiff clay. . 

Gravel 

Shale 

Limestone. 



Feet. 
43 

54 

133 

170 



Feet. 



43 



230 
400 



This well found no satisfactory supply. The pipe was later blown 
in two at 230 feet for the purpose of obtaining water at that depth, 
but the well was never productive and is now abandoned. The 
water from all the wells comes from gravel below blue clay, and 
there seems to be little likelihood of pollution from the surface. 
Up to January, 1908, this water was distributed from a standpipe 
with a capacity of 189,000 gallons, giving a pressure throughout the 
town of 45 to 50 pounds. A new underground cement reservoir, 
with a capacity of 500,000 gallons, was completed during 1907, and 
direct pressure from the pumps can be furnished in emergencies. 
Analyses of the water from the city wells are given on page 77, 
Nos. 2 and 3. 



74 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

In Lebanon many people still supply themselves with water from 
private wells, and although there are a few open wells in use the 
driven and drilled wells are in greater favor. In the west part of 
town water is obtained at depths of 40 to 60 feet : in the east part 
wells 100 to 300 feet deep are more common. Occasionally a 
drilling will fail to reach an open gravel bed in the till, and two or 
three have penetrated the underlying shale without obtaining satis- 
factory supplies of water. The records of a number of wells in and 
near Lebanon are given by Leveret t. a 

VILLAGE AND RURAL SUPPLIES. 

Thomtown. — Thorntown, with a population of 1,511 in 1900, is 
situated on a till ridge which slopes downward to the valley of 
Prairie Creek on the east and to Sugar Creek on the north. The 
town has no public waterworks and all the supplies are obtained 
from wells, of which shallow, open wells 15 to 25 feet deep are most 
common. In a town of this size, as there is no sewer system, a large 
amount of objectionable matter from cesspools, barnyards, and other 
sources enters the ground to join the body of water from which the 
shallow wells are supplied, and such a supply is unsafe. On the 
other hand, there are a few drilled or driven wells which penetrate 
through a thick layer of till into a gravel bed, and the water there 
obtained is much safer than that from the shallow wells. 

Thorntown should have a public water supply. The large flowing 
well in the creek bottom east of the town would easily furnish suffi- 
cient water for the entire village. The water is of good quality for 
domestic purposes, as shown by the chemical analysis on page 77. 
Xo. 4. Pneumatic pressure tanks or some other simple water sys- 
tem could be installed here at a relatively small cost, and would 
furnish fire protection, of which the town is greatly in need. 

Section of deep boring at Thorntown. ° 

Feet. 

Drift 65 

Subearboniferous limestone and shale 238 

Hamilton shale 87 

Corniferous limestone 37 

Niagara limestone 407 

Hudson River and CJtica 373 

Trenton ..'. SO 

1,287 

Whitestown. — Whitestown is situated on a till plain, and the wells, 
of various types, range in depth from 12 to 110 feet. The dug wells 
depend upon seepage water from the till, but the deeper driven and 
drilled wells enter lenses of gravel or sand and the supply from these 

a Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 26, 1S99, pp. 13-17. 

t> Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 263. 



BOONE COUNTY. 



75 



is more abundant. In one well 105 feet in depth the water rises 
within 9 feet of the surface and shows no variation in head either 
with the seasons or with heavy use. For the record and analysis of 
this water see page 76 (No. 14) and page 77 (No. 5). 

Zionsville. — Zionsville lies in the lowlands near Eagle Creek,' and 
the water table is nowhere far below the surface. Its water supply 
is drawn for the most part from shallow dug and driven wells, although 
there are a few drilled wells from 50 to 110 feet in depth. All the 
wells obtain water from gravel beds and none penetrates to rock. 
The deeper wells encounter water under artesian pressure. A well 
in the cellar of J. W. Brendel flows with a small stream 3 feet below 
the surface. (See p. 76, No. 15, and p. 77, No. 6.) 

Jamestown. — The wells in Jamestown are drilled and dug, the dug 
wells getting water in the glacial clays or gravels and the drilled 
wells entering limestone at about 40 feet. The dug wells receive 
water through their walls at all levels and are subject to pollution, 
but the deeper drilled wells case off the surface waters, and are sup- 
plied only by the limestone, in which cool, palatable, and abundant 
water is commonly found. The town well, opposite the hotel, is 
drilled into rock. 

Rural districts. — On the farms of the county wells supply water for 
domestic purposes and for watering stock. Most of them obtain their 
waters from the surface deposits, though a few enter the rock. Until 
within the last few years the open well was the rule, but with im- 
proved methods drilled and driven wells have gradually superseded 
the less sanitary dug wells. 

Other communities. — The table below gives a list of other com- 
munities, with information regarding their water supply: 

Other village supplies in Boone County. 





o 

~ o 
O 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 




2 


o> 

Q 


■3 

£>& 
T3 
03 
V 

w 




Town. 




£ 




a 



S 
S 



Character of water 
beds. 




310 

97 

46 

32 
64 
134 

66 


Wells, drilled, 

driven, and dug. 

Wells, driven and 

dug; springs. 
Wells, dug and 
driven. 

do 

do 

Wells, driven, 

drilled, and dug. 

Wells, dug and 

driven. 
do 


Feet. 

40 

20 

8 

14 
11 
10 

20 

18 
40 
15 
10 
10 


Feet. 
110 

100 

120 

150 
96 
125 

150 

150 
150 
175 
116 
150 


Feet. 

65 

25 

12 

16 

15 

20,75 

25,60 

25 
45 
20 
25 
25 


Feet. 
65 

100 

"'"76 


Feet. 
8 

10 

8 

12 

8 
4-15 




Bigspring 

Dover 


stone. 
Gravel. 

Sand, gravel, and 
limestone. 




Hazelrigg 

Max 


Do. 


New Brunswick. . 


stone. 
Gravel. 


Pike 




16 

40 

1-10 

7-15 

13 


Do. 




127 
100 
149 
178 


...do.... 


Do. 




do 

do 

do 


Do. 


Royalton 

Whitelick 


Do. 
Sand and gravel. 



n 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two tables that follow give complete information regarding 
a number of typical wells in Boone County and their waters. The 
numbers in the last column in each table refer to identical wells in 
the other table. 

Records of typical wells in Boone County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


ft 
ft 


ft 
>> 
En 


"5 

a 

03 

5 


03 

a 

oj 
Q 


*> .. 
££ . 

So ai 

--. - ~- 

- a = 

oi O m 
35 


Water-bear- 
ing materials. 


M 
o 
o 

o 

■g 

ft 

a> 
Q 


a 
S 

ft| 

o 

5 


3 

s 

(D 

ft 

s 


6 

xn 

"vi 

>> 
"3 


1 


Town well 

Otis Crane 

Do 

J. W. Wills... 
City of Leba- 
non. 

Do 

Do 

George W. La 

Follette. 
Samuel Jett... 

Albert Weth- 
erald. 

John Leather- 
man. 

J. E. Leather- 
man. 

W illis Johns- 
ton. 

Isaac Isenhour 

Jas. W. Bren- 
del. 

Town well 

A. Perry 
Moore. 


\ square S. of Ad- 
vance railroad 
station. 

2i miles E. of Ha- 
zelrigg. 

2 miles E. of Ha- 
zelrigg. 


Ft. 

90 

47 

175 

51 
230 

816 
97 
60 

1,700 

187 

140 

140 

60 

105 
108 

81 


Drilled. . 

Driven. . 

...do 

...do 

Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Driven.. 

Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 


In. 

2 

11 

3 

2 

8 

8 
8 

4 

8 

2 

4 

4 

2 

4 
3 


Ft. 

90 

47 

175 

51 
230 


Feet. 

- 8 

+ 2 

- 6 

""-20 


Limestone . . 
Gravel 


Ft. 

60 


GaZZs. 


°.F. 


1 


? 








T 












4 


Gravel 










*s 


At waterworks 

do 

.....do 

ImileSE. ofShan- 
nondale. 

E. edge of Thorn- 
town. 

3| miles NW. of 
Thorntown. 

3 miles NE. of 
Thorntown. 

3J miles NE. of 
Thorntown. 

1 mile N. of White- 
lick. 

Whites town 


do 


230 

230 

230 
30 






9 


f> 








7 


97 
60 

90 

120 

140 

60 

105 
108 


-20 

+ 7 

+12 
-10 

+ 4 

+ 7 
+ 5 

- 9 

- 3 


Gravel 

Blue lime- 
stone. 






3 


8 
q 




51 


4 


in 


Clay 










11 


Sand. . . 






50 




T> 


Gravel 








13 






30 






11 


Gravel 






S 


It 


do 

Till 








6 


16 


At Farmers' Bank, 

Zionsville. 
2| miles NW. of 

Zionsville. 


8 


17 


Drilled.. 


21 


78 


+ 6 


Gravel and 
sand. 




1 


54 





BOONE COUNTY. 



77 



•H9AV 

jo pjoo9j ui '0^ 




( "0 t~a> ■* io 


: S 


•spnos reioj, 


CM (NCMO CM ■* CM ■<»< 

^H (MIOOS r-l tf5 CO "5 

■>*< (OMM >0 t- •<*« •«*< 


•joioo 


CM 






rj< Tt< 


a> 


•( s ON) 


8 

d 






8 8 


o 

CM 


•( 8 ON) 


o »o iO 

<M OOO O O 


o 


•(10) amaoiqo 


(NO 

CO -<i<CN*CN <N CM CM CM 

i-l rH t-I .-t CM CO 


■c*os) 

apip^a a^qd^ng 


O CO CO o o o 
d h«o! | jj. 


•( S OOH) ap 
-ipBJ aiBuoqjBoig 


CO "*H00 «-i "0 ■ 00 
CO COON >0 Tf ■ 00 
CO *o CO CO ^ CO • CO 


•( £ 00) 9P 

-ipBJ Q^BUOqaBQ 


O CM O O O 

d ■>* ** t^ co 

(M--H CO 


'(X) uinisse^oj 






re if 












•(BN) tunipos 




c- 








•(3k) raniseuSBK 


O NOW r- iO CM 00 
CM COCOCM (M CO CM CM 


•(bo) xnmoreo 


CO t^ScO CO H ffl tji 


*(IV) ranuirnniY 


. ! ! ! ! ^t 




■(9J)U0JI 


O C0^f<0 CM O "* 
d CM '-H rl 


t 


•( 8 ois) wins 


• tf tJ< CM . o 
CM CM CM • >-l 




Material 

in which 

water 

occurs. 


a> 

CI 

o 

go "a 

CD > 

S £ 

3 c 


O O © O 


'f 




"c3 


r-- t- r— t~- i-~ r~ 

O OOO o o 
OS G:C7) OS Cfr O 


c 




1 

H 


H.E. Barnard.. 

Chase Palmer... 

do 

do 

H. E. Barnard.. 

do 


— 
s 
B 
1- 
03 

PC 




o3 

3 
O 
CO 


Drilled well, 90 ft. 

by 2 in. 
Drilled well, 230 ft. 
Drilled well, 97 ft.. 
Drilled well, 1,700 

ft. « 
Drilled well, 105 ft. 

bv 4 in. 
Drilled well, 108 ft. 

by 3 in. 
Wells 


? 

B 
B 
C 


4 


.2 

o 
o 


a 

c 
C 

> 

< 


§ 

e 

si 
f 


: o -3 = 

o a oj > 
■ t-i !> N 


c 


c 


i 

O 


a 

3 
a 

Ph 


> 
P 
P 

go 

5 


: oa 

.DQ 


= 

o 

JZ 
B 

a 
5 

ol 
a 


a 

a 


Id 

ccTO 

!_ 

QJ CUg 

a cc 

O c3 3 

5 cm 




6 
3 


- 


CM 


co 


« 


>-. 


o 


'- 


cc 





78 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

CARROLL COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Carroll County, which lies on the western edge of the area treated 
in this report and halfway between its northern and southern borders, 
has an area of 370 square miles and in 1900 had a population of 
19,953. That part which lies east and southeast of WabashRiver is a 
dissected till plain with level upland areas between the valleys of the 
larger streams. A few small areas of terminal moraine give locally 
a somewhat more rolling topography (PI. I), and an area of irregular 
moraine lies between Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers. 

Carroll County is exceptionally well provided with surface streams, 
the most important being Wabash River, which crosses the north- 
west corner of the county. The valley of this river is broad and well 
developed, and varies in width from one-half mile to 2 miles. The 
river lies 100 to 130 feet below the surrounding plain, and its valley 
bottom is occupied by alluvial deposits of low slopes. Above the 
bottom lands the bluffs rise sharply for about 100 feet and then 
merge with the till plains of the upland. The lowest point in the 
county is where Wabash River crosses the county line below Delphi, 
about 575 feet above sea level; the highest point in the county is 
about 800 feet above sea level, giving a range of elevation of ap- 
proximately 225 feet. 

Next in importance to the Wabash is Tippecanoe River, which 
flows along the west edge of the county. Its valley is neither so 
broad nor so deep as that of the Wabash and is less than 100 feet 
below the uplands. It varies from one-fourth to 1 mile in width, and 
the bluffs at the valley sides are steep. The Tippecanoe joins the 
Wabash 3 miles south of the county line. 

Wild Cat and Deer creeks are both important streams, and flow 
from east to west across the county to join the Wabash. Both these 
creeks have developed flood plains in proportion to their size, and 
they, with numerous smaller streams, have aided in dissecting the 
till plateau. 

As a result of the complete drainage of this county, there are no 
large natural lakes or ponds. A few artificial ponds have been 
formed by damming a stream valley or a gully, but all are small. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

In the valleys of Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers and of Wild Cat 
and Deer creeks, as well as in the valleys of many smaller streams, 
there are alluvial plains of varying width. The alluvium occurs 
either as flood-plain flats, usually known as the " first bottom," or as 



CARROLL COUNTY. 79 

terraces above the flood plain. The terraces that lie at different 
heights up to 75 feet above the stream are remnants of older flood 
plains, which have been partly removed since their formation. In 
the Wabash Valley the stream deposits vary in thickness up to 30 
feet, or may be missing, for in flood time the river scours its channel 
down to bed rock. 

The alluvial beds have a large pore space, and a capacity for hold- 
ing a great deal of w T ater, almost all of which is readily available if 
reached by wells. In the valley bottoms sufficient water is usually 
present to saturate the alluvium well up toward the surface, so that 
conditions are ideal for obtaining plentiful water at shallow depths. 
For farm use driven wells have been found to be cheapest and 
most satisfactory for procuring waters from alluvium, and they are 
in general use wherever these deposits occur. 

The moraines of Carroll County are nowhere prominent topographic 
features. They occur as disconnected patches (see PL I), with 
bowlder-covered surfaces of slight relief, and the low hills now T here 
stand more than a few feet above the surrounding plains. Those 
patches which occur near Wabash River are outlying remnants of the 
great interlobate moraine which extends from Carroll County north- 
east into Michigan. There is generally enough gravel or sand in the 
moraines to afford domestic wells a fair yield of water from drilled or 
driven wells. In the absence of coarse beds open wells in the bowlder 
clay will obtain moderate amounts of seep water. 

The till, which covers most of the surface of the county, is gener- 
ally thickest on the stream divides and thinnest along the valleys. In 
a number of valleys the streams have cut entirely through the till, 
exposing the bed rock below; in other places, as at Cutler, wells 150 
feet deep have failed to reach the bottom of the till. At Delphi 
Wabash River has removed the glacial deposits and exposed the 
rocks. In those areas where porous gravel or sand beds occur in the 
till water can be best obtained by drilled or driven wells, although 
such beds are in many places too deep to be easily reached by open 
wells. The only recourse in those areas where gravels and sands are 
absent is to sink open dug wells, into which the w T ater seeps gradually 
from the till. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The New Albany shale, which underlies the surface deposits in the 
southwest half of the county (see PL III), outcrops near Delphi and 
in the valley of Rock Creek, but is covered, except in the deep valleys, 
by surface deposits up to 150 feet thick. These black shales seldom 
serve as the source of well supplies, for although the pore space is 
large and the proportion of water contained is considerable, this 
water is not yielded to wells unless well-defined open passages are 



80 UNDEKGEOUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

encountered. In Rockfield one or two wells have obtained good 
supplies from this shale. 

The Devonian limestones are the uppermost beds of rocks in much 
of eastern and northern Carroll County (PL III). Most of this area 
is covered by the till plateau, and the only reported outcrops of these 
limestones are along Wabash River above Delphi and in Rock Creek 
east of Tilman. Only a few wells have penetrated the limestones, 
though such wells have always been successful. A well north of the 
village of Darwin obtained a fine supply when the drill in limestone 
dropped 8 inches into an opening of some sort. As the overlying 
drift nearly everywhere furnishes enough water it is unnecessary to 
sink to the rock. 

A limestone which is usually classed with the Niagara but which 
has also been referred to as Devonian, outcrops at the surface in the 
neighborhood of Delphi, and forms the rock surface below the drift 
in a portion of the east and north parts of the county (PL III). 
The fracture joints, solution passages, and bedding planes of the 
limestone are filled with water to a level within 12 or 15 feet of the 
surface. Below this level drilled wells commonly find good supplies 
of water in the openings of the rock. Wells drilled into the rock 
should be put down to a considerable depth and cased for some dis- 
tance below the ground-water level, as the deeper waters are less 
likely to be contaminated than those nearer the surface. The broad 
outcrops of limestones are so broken that any liquid matter is readily 
absorbed at the surface and shallow rock wells might easily be polluted 
in this way. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

At Delphi waters under artesian pressure have been found in all 
borings that have gone deeply into the ' ' Niagara " limestone. (PL IV, 
No. 7.) Two such wells are now flowing, the best known of which is 
the " Delphi artesian well," a drilled originally for gas or oil to a depth 
of 912 feet. 

Section of deep well at Delphi b 

Feet. 

Niagara limestone = 587 

Hudson River limestone and shale 220 

Utica shale 93 

Trenton limestone 12 

912 

The principal flow of water is said to come from a depth of 165 
feet, but the temperature of the water (57° F.) would indicate that 
at least part of it comes from greater depths. The water is much 

a Described by J. N. Ilurty, Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Res., pp. 29-30, 
b Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 241. 



CAREOLL. COUNTY. 81 

used for drinking. A second well, producing a similar water but 
yielding a smaller flow, is situated at the Monon Railroad bridge 
across Deer Creek. 

Two flowing wells are reported from the Wabash Valley northwest 
of the village of Burrows. (PI. IV, No. 8.) As limestone outcrops 
along the river in this neighborhood, it is presumed that these wells 
enter rock. 

Along the valley of Sugar Creek, near Radnor, there is an area in 
which good flowing wells have been obtained. (PL IV, No. 9.) 
There are five flowing wells in this valley, which range in depth from 
29 to 39 feet. All but one of these were put in during 1907. The 
artesian waters occur in a gravel bed in the till and are obtained by 
driven wells, which can be sunk here for 75 cents per foot. A com- 
plete flowing well may thus be obtained at a cost of less than $30. 

At Burlington, near Wild Cat Creek, there are several flowing wells. 
(PL IV, No. 10.) The only one of these about which information 
could be obtained was drilled to a depth of 97 feet, the lower 7 feet 
being in limestone, from which the flow was obtained. The well is 
on the slope of the river bluff, about 35 feet above the creek, and the 
water is used at a creamery. There is good reason to believe that 
other flowing wells may be obtained in this neighborhood if situated 
upon ground as low as or lower than the creamery and drilled into 
the limestone. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Delphi. — Delphi, the county seat of Carroll County, is situated in 
the broad valley of Wabash River and about 30 feet above that 
stream. It has one of the best city water supplies in Indiana, 
obtained from springs about 3 miles northeast of the city. The 
springs are three in number, and issue from the base of a gravel ter- 
race which rises about 40 feet above them. In the present water- 
works, which were built in 1891, the water is collected from the 
springs, which are covered by spring houses, and carried by gravity 
through wooden pipes to a buried reservoir of 387,000 gallons 
capacity. From the reservoir it is pumped by steam to a 37,000 
gallon standpipe, 116 feet high, from which the water is distributed 
by direct pressure to about 5^ miles of city mains, ranging from 8 to 
4 inches in diameter. There are 459 service taps, which supply more 
than 90 per cent of the people of Delphi. Practically everybody in 
the city proper depends upon the city supply, but in North Delphi 
and the later additions, the city water is not so generally used. 

The healthfulness of the water supply is attested by the general 
health of the city. There is no record of a single case of typhoid 
fever among the people who use only the city water. Up to the pres- 
46448°— wsp 254—10 6 



82 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

ent time the supply has been adequate, but additional water will be 
needed if the growth of the city continues. 

A large additional supply could be obtained from springs known as 
" Falling Springs," 2 miles southwest of the court-house, between the 
Wabash Railroad and the river, near the county line. These springs 
apparently emerge from above the rock and below the till and are 
cold and clear. The land above is under cultivation, and there are 
no houses near by, so there is little danger of pollution of this water. 
The flow of the largest spring is estimated at 100 gallons a minute, 
enough to supply at least 50 per cent of the present population of the 
city. There are many other large springs which issue from the 
bluffs of the Wabash above and below Delphi. 

In the outskirts of the city a good many families rely on cisterns 
and shallow wells for their water. Such wells are either in the sur- 
face alluvial gravels or in the upper part of the limestone, and waters 
from either source are likely to become contaminated, especially near 
settlements. 

It is reported that some wells in the limestone have been spoiled 
by the artesian sulphur waters from unplugged gas wells. The state 
law which requires that all abandoned wells must be plugged at the 
base of the limestone should be more strictly enforced, as the leakage 
from such wells is continuous when the waters are under artesian 
pressure and may affect the upper waters for considerable distances 
from the wells. 

Flora. — Flora, with a population, in 1900, of 1,209, is a thriving 
town situated on the till plateau, 8 miles southeast of Delphi. A 
public supply was installed in the summer of 1907 by the Flora 
Water Company, a part of the stock in this company being owned by 
the city. An 8-inch well has been drilled to a depth of 195 feet, of 
which the last 60 feet are in limestone. The principal water supply 
was obtained at 185 feet, and none was found below this. The well 
was tested and was found to yield 100 gallons per minute during a 
half day's continuous pumping. 

A pneumatic pressure system with two 60,000-gallon tanks is used. 
The water is pumped into the tanks, which are partly rilled with air, 
and the air pressure forces the water through the mains, of which 
there are about 3 miles, 8, 6, and 4 inches in diameter. 

Before the installation of the public system the town was supplied by 
private wells, most of which were shallow driven wells, obtaining 
water in the sand and gravel in the till at depths of 16 to 40 feet, 
though a few drilled wells which enter rock at about 140 feet were 
used. The shallow wells are dangerous and to their use may perhaps 
be ascribed the prevalence of typhoid fever in the town at certain 
times. 



CARROLL COUNTY. 83 

Camden. — Camden is situated on a gently undulating till plain 
near Deer Creek and about 5 miles east of Delphi. It has no public 
supply in general use, although there is a small private system, the 
water from which is used for sprinkling. The water for this system 
is obtained from a 185-foot drilled well, sunk 65 feet into limestone, 
and the water obtained from this limestone is pumped by a gasoline 
engine to a tank 40 feet high, from which it is distributed by gravity. 
The system has 1,500 feet of 2-inch mains and supplies 14 taps. Only 
20 barrels of water per day are consumed. An analysis of this water 
is given on page 86 (No. 2). 

In Camden most of the water for domestic use is obtained from 
open wells 15 to 30 feet deep, which secure water from gravelly beds 
or from seepage from the clay. The open wells are always a source 
of danger, as they readily receive any drainage from kitchen slops, 
outhouses, or any other liquids which may be absorbed at the surface. 
Wherever it is possible, water from the deep wells should be used and 
the open wells abandoned and filled up. 

Burlington. — The village of Burlington is situated on the edge of a 
rolling till plain near the valley of Wild Cat Creek, and about 60 feet 
above it. Beneath the town the till is 130 to 140 feet in thickness, 
so that most of the wells are driven into gravel in the till, although a 
few deep drilled wells go into the limestone at tjie base of the till and 
get water under artesian pressure. On the slope of the bluff and 
below the plain some wells in limestone will flow at the surface. 

A number of large springs issue from a gravel bed near the base of 
the creek bluffs, the largest of which, on property belonging to the 
heirs of Amos Miller, flows about 15 gallons per minute. The spring 
emerges from just below the cemetery, and there is a possibility of 
pollution from this source. 

Pittsburg. — Pittsburg lies on a narrow strip of terrace and on the 
side of the bluff of Wabash River, opposite Delphi, and its water 
supply is obtained from springs and dug wells. The springs flow out 
from the base of the bluff, apparently from gravel beds. One of the 
best of the springs is owned by the county, and its water, which has 
been piped to a watering trough at the principal crossroads, is used 
by many families for drinking purposes. The wells in the town are 
almost all of the open type. Near the river they reach to limestone 
at depths of 12 to 15 feet, but on the higher ground the limestone is 
deeper, and the water is found in gravel beds in the till. In a 60-foot 
section of the till, offered by a cut along the Monon Railroad, at the 
edge of the town, the upper 30 feet consist of beds of oxidized gravel 
which have been cemented into a conglomerate. Below these the 
section consists of blue, unoxidized till. 



84 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



Other communities. — A tabulated list of other communities in the 
county, with the conditions of water supply in each, is given below: 

Other village supplies in Carroll County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 
below 
sur- 
face. 


Character of 
water beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


Bringhurst. . . 

Burrows 

Cutler 


448 

187 
150 


Wells, drilled and dug... 

Wells, driven and drilled. 
Wells, dug and drilled... 
Wells, dug and driven . . 
Wells, dug and drilled. . . 

Dug wells and springs.. . 
Wells, driven and dug. . . 

do 


Feet. 
14 

35 
12 
10 
10 

13 

20 

18 
19 
12 
18 
15 
11 
30 

20 
16 


Feet. 
120 

90 
150 

96 
175 

150 
115 

106 
40 

115 
30 
55 
14 

130 

118 
60 


Feet. 
65 

35 
80 
15 
12 

40 
30 

70 
30 
20 
20 
15 
12 
45 

30 
20 


Feet. 
125 

~50-60' 
"""22" 

""i35" 


Feet. 
12 

20 

6-12 

10 

3-20 

16 
4-35 

8 
15 

5 
10 
10 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel and sand. 
Gravel. 
Do. 


Deer Creek. . . 

Hopedale 

Lockport 

Ockley 


120 

25 
117 

102 
30 
75 
100 
150 
46 
25 

177 
50 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 

Gravel. 

Gravel and lime- 
stone. 




Do. 


Patton 

Pyrmont 

Radnor 

Sleeth 

Walker. 


Wells, dug and driven... 


Do. 

Do. 


Wells, dug and drilled. . . 
Wells, dug and driven... 


Do. 

Do. 




Wells, dug and drilled... 
Wells, driven and dug. . . 


stone. 
Do. 



















Rural districts. — In the county there are great numbers of wells for 
household use and for watering stock. Some of these are in the sur- 
face deposits, and some go into the underlying rock. In the matter 
of deep driven and drilled wells, the inhabitants of Carroll County 
have been rather backward, and there are still an unusually large 
number of open wells in use. The popularity of the driven and 
drilled wells is increasing, however, and almost all new wells are of 
one of these two types. 

Carroll County is especially fortunate in the possession of a large 
number of springs. Most of these rise from the base of the bluffs 
along stream valleys, and the waters, always cold and clear, are com- 
monly free from contamination and where available afford an unex- 
celled supply. 

TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

The two following tables give detailed information regarding typ- 
ical wells in Carroll County and analyses of their waters. The 
numbers in the last column of each table refer to identical wells in 
the other table. 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 87 

CASS COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Cass County, in the west-central part of the region under considera- 
tion, has an area of 420 square miles. Its population in 1900 was 
34,545, an average of 82 inhabitants to the square mile. The county 
seat, Logansport, 68 miles from Indianapolis and 100 miles from 
Chicago, lies a little northeast of a line connecting these two greater 
cities. 

The county exhibits more diversity of surface than many equal 
areas within the State, chiefly because it contains parts of two impor- 
tant stream valleys. The most striking topographic feature is the 
valley of the Wabash, which crosses the county from east to west as 
a very definite trough that ranges in width from a few hundred feet 
to a mile and is incised from 100 to 150 feet below the level of the 
uplands north and south of it. The valley of Eel River, roughly par- 
allel to that of the Wabash, joins the latter at Logansport, and is a 
similar but slightly less prominent topographic feature. 

The uplands north of the Wabash Valley are diversified by low 
morainal hills, and another belt of similar irregular topography occu- 
pies the strip between Deer Creek and the south line of the county. 
Except where streams are cut below them or moraines rise above 
them the uplands are flat, featureless plains. 

The Wabash and the Eel are the chief streams of the county, as 
their valleys are the principal depressions. Where either river has 
cut below the glacial mantle into the underlying rock its valley is 
narrow, its banks are cliff-like, and its channel is impeded by rapids, 
but in the drift areas the valle} T s broaden, and the water courses are 
bordered by narrow belts of alluvial bottoms. The other streams 
of the county are small and their valleys are cut but a few feet below 
the level of the uplands across which they flow. 

A few small lakes in the northern part of the county, like other 
lakes in northern Indiana, occupy depressions in the morainal drift. 
Lake Cicott, the largest, 9 miles west of Logansport, is 1 mile long and 
one-fourth mile wide. The county as a whole is well drained and 
contains no large marshes. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The alluvial sands and gravels, since they are stream-laid deposits, 
are confined practically to the strips of bottom and bench land that 
border the rivers. Not every terrace, however, overlies deposits of 
this character, for in a few localities, where the streams flow over 
rock, the benches also are cut in rock which may be veneered by a 



50 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

film of alluvial gravels a few feet or a few inches thick. Deposits of 
the strictly alluvial type in this county are confined almost entirely 
to the valleys of Wabash and Eel rivers, but in the western part, north, 
west, and south of Lake Cicott, there are similar surface deposits of 
sand. 

Water is generally abundant, of good quality, and easily obtained 
in the bottom lands. The alluvium remains saturated at least up to 
the level of the streams, so that wells sunk in it are less affected by 
drought than those in the glacial deposits of the uplands, and the 
thorough washing and sorting that the material has undergone dur- 
ing the process of deposition has removed from it much of the mineral 
matter that it originally contained, so that the water obtained from 
it is softer than that from the till, and, where protected from contami- 
nation, is pure. 

Driven wells are easily and cheaply installed in the bottom lands, 
and few fail to }deld a supply that is excellent and ample for all pur- 
poses. 

Morainal drift occupies the greater part of the upland surface of 
Cass County, the underlying till, at places scarcely distinguishable 
from it by the drillers, appearing at the surface only in two areas, one 
south of the Wabash, between it and Deer Creek, the other in the north 
half of the county (PI. I). 

The thickness of both the moraine and the till varies in different 
parts of the uplands. Southwest of Adamsboro, between Wabash 
and Eel rivers, wells 100 feet deep do not reach rock, and the topog- 
raphy of this divide indicates that the greater part of this thickness 
is morainal material. North of Eel River the moraine may be even 
thicker, while along the south edge of the county it is so thin that all 
except the shallowest wells pass through it into the till below. 

In the areas of rougher topography the drift is almost everywhere 
of open texture, permitting free circulation of water. Wells sunk in 
these areas yield abundantly, but the water table is at many places 
50 to 70 feet below the ground surface. Because of the free circula- 
tion and the abundance of the supply, however, continued pumping 
fails to lower the water level. In those morainal areas where the 
relief is less marked the water table is nearer the surface. 

The till, wherever it may be found either beneath the moraines or 
at the surface, where it forms a level or slightly undulating plain, is of 
the usual type — that is, it is a compact clayey mass which yields water 
but sparingly except from interbedded sand or gravel layers. These 
layers, however, are in most localities sufficiently abundant to make 
it highly probable that any deep drilled well will pass through one 
or more such beds, from which abundant water may as a rule be 
procured. 






CA&S COUNTY. 89 

Generally speaking, the waters derived from the till are the hardest 
that are obtained from the unconsolidated materials in this county, 
those derived from the moraines being next in hardness. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The Devonian limestones, the youngest of the hard rock deposits of 
Cass County, immediately underlie the glacial material in the south- 
central part of the county and appear at the surface in the valleys of 
Wabash and Eel rivers. Beneath the Devonian in this part of the 
county and just below the drift throughout the remainder of the 
county lie the Silurian (" Niagara") limestones. These limestones 
also outcrop in the valleys of Wabash and Eel rivers east of the zone 
along which the Devonian beds appear. Deep borings at Logansport 
indicate a thickness of 540 feet for the Silurian there and prove that 
several so-called ^breaks" or beds of shale are interstratified with the 
more massive limestone. These shale layers serve as confining beds and, 
where other conditions are favorable, make possible the accumulation 
of sufficient head in the water beneath them to cause it to flow at the 
surface. 

The depth to rock varies widely within the county. The fact that 
it appears at the surface in the valleys of the Wabash and the Eel has 
already been mentioned. In the southern half of the county scat- 
tered wells reach the Devonian rocks, but in the area north of the 
Wabash the Silurian is so deeply buried that few wells extend to it. 

Some wells obtain good supplies of water from the unconsolidated 
beds just above the limestones, but better yields are almost every- 
where to be had from the rock itself a few feet below its upper surface. 
Both of the limestones are intersected by open joint and bedding 
planes that form crevices which afford free passage for water. These 
crevices are especially numerous near the surface of the rock, and few 
wells that penetrate it for a short distance fail to obtain an abundant 
supply. Plate V, B, shows solution passages in the limestone. Such 
openings, if encountered by wells, commonly supply large quantities 
of water. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

At the Northern Indiana Insane Asylum at Longcliff, 2 miles south- 
west of Logansport, there are two deep wells in the limestone, one of 
which flows 2 and the other 3 gallons a minute. (PI. IV, No. 11.) 
One of these wells is 230, the other 618 feet deep, but as neither of 
them is cased below the rock surface the depth from which the water 
rises is not known. 

Near the southern edge of the county, along the lowlands of Deer 
Creek and its tributaries, is another area of flowing wells. (PI. IV, 
No. 12.) The surface deposits here are 50 or 60 feet thick, and the 



90 UNDEBGEOUND WATERS OF NOBTH-CEXTBAL IKDIANA. 

wells passing through this mantle strike the artesian water in the 
upper part of the underlying limestone. The conditions that cause 
this now, shown diagrammatic ally in figure 12, seem simple and clear. 
In the vicinity of Kokomo the limestones are near the surface, and so 
are favorably situated for the absorption of rainfall. Between 
Kokomo and the Deer Creek lowlands the limestones are covered by 
a sheet of impervious till, which confines the water sufficiently to give 
it the necessary head. 

At Galveston, in the southeast corner of the county (PL IV, No. 
13), there is an old well, drilled originally for gas, that yields about 
20 gallons of water a minute. This water is under sufficient pressure 
to rise over 5 feet above the surface. No record of the well could be 
obtained, but there can be little doubt that the water comes from the 
" Niagara" limestone, winch is here 40 to 60 feet below the surface. 
The fact that the water is sulphurous (analysis Not 4, p. 94) adds to 
this probability. It is likely that the head which causes this water to 
flow originates farther east and south. 

In the Wabash Valley in the vicinity of Logansport all of the deep 
wells in the limestone encounter water under artesian pressure. In a 
number of these the pressure is sufficient to produce a flow. (PI. IV, 

No . 1 4 . ) The strong- 
J>wJf^^ est yield is reported 

from a boring for gas, 
said to be the deepest 

Figure 12.— Diagram showing source of artesian head in the valley of • rv "p j. TViiq 

Deer Creek. At Kokomo {K) the limestone is near the surface and m ^ ass uouni } ■ ims 

can absorb the rainfall. Between Kokomo and Deer Creek (D) the rock Well, the property 7 " of 

is covered by a sheet of impervious till. In the valley of Deer Creek T n |,- n W "KVrmprlV i«s 

the water, which is under artesian pressure, will flow at the surface at ° ° 11X VV * I ^ eimeu ) y i ^ 

W. At W the water from the same depth will rise toward the in the West end of the 

surface but will not flow. ^ y^^ k ^ 

first drilled the water is said to have spouted 2 feet above the top of 
the 6-inch casing, indicating a yield of nearly 1,000 gallons a minute at 
that time. Since then the well has been plugged to stop the waste. 

In addition to the flowing wells there are in Logansport many rock 
wells in which the water rises to or nearly to the surface. They 
probably derive their supply from open connected channels in the 
limestone, for some wells that are near together are apparently inter- 
dependent. For example, it has been proved by the Logansport Ice 
and Cold Storage Company that when either of its four wells . is 
pumped the water in the others is lowered. Strong drafts on the 
ice company's wells also lower the head in other neighboring wells. 

CITY AND VILLA GE SUPPLIES. 

Logansport. — Logansport, the county seat of Cass County, with a 
population in 1900 of 16,204, is situated in the valley bottom at the 
junction of Wabash and Eel rivers, at an altitude of about 600 feet 




CASS COUNTY. 91 

above sea level. The waterworks, which are owned by the city, were 
built in 1875. Eel River is the source both of the water supply and 
of the power by which it is distributed, the power being developed by 
a dam built across the stream. 

About half the population uses the city water, which is distributed 
by direct pressure through 33 miles of mains from 2 to 20 inches in 
diameter. These mains supply 202 fire hydrants and 3,220 taps, the 
total consumption being from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 gallons a day. 

Since the city water is derived from a surface source, it is very soft, 
contains little scale-forming material, and has the reputation among 
the railroads of being an ideal boiler water. For manufacturing and 
steaming it is superior to the limestone water obtained from the wells, 
but for drinking, used as it is in Logansport without filtration, it is 
less desirable. Eel River, like other surface streams in closely settled 
regions, is in constant danger of pollution. In periods of flood the 
unsatisfactory condition of the water is obvious, but there may be 
greater danger in the clearer water that is pumped into the mains 
during periods of low water in the streams. The installation of a 
filtration plant would greatly improve conditions here. 

The 50 per cent of Logansport' s inhabitants who do not use the 
city water depend on cisterns and private wells for their supply. The 
wells are 15 to 90 feet deep, dug or drilled, and obtain water either 
from gravels or from the underlying limestone, which is at most 
places found at less than 40 feet below the surface. In the past, 
shallow, open dug wells have been much used, but it is now recognized 
that they are very unsafe in an area that is so closely settled, hence 
most of them have been wisely abandoned for drilled wells, 40 to 60 
feet deep, that penetrate the underlying rock and obtain from it safe, 
though hard, waters. 

Royal Center. — Royal Center is a thriving town in the northwest 
corner of Cass County, with a population of about 1,000. A munici- 
pal waterworks system owned by the city has been installed and a well 
6 inches in diameter and 280 feet deep has been drilled as a source of 
supply. This well, which derives its water from the "Niagara" lime- 
stone, has been tested and found to have a capacity of 15,000 gallons 
an hour. The water is pumped from the well to a 68,000-gallon 
wooden tank at an elevation of 90 feet. This elevation gives a domes- 
tic pressure of 40 pounds, but for protection from fire the water is 
pumped directly into the mains and a much higher pressure is thereby 
obtained. The system, with its 2 miles of 4 to 6 inch mains and its 
72 services, supplies about one-third of the inhabitants of the city, 
the average daily consumption being about 25,000 gallons. 

The remaining two-thirds of the people still use private wells, the 
greater number of which are 40 to 60 feet deep. The water supply 
for these wells comes from gravel beds in the till, and since these 



92 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

gravels are protected from pollution by the compact clay above them, 
they form safe reservoirs. Typhoid fever is therefore almost unknown 
in Royal Center. 

Galveston. — Galveston, in the southeast corner of Cass County, 
stands about 20 feet above Deer Creek on a gently undulating till 
plain. The town supply is drawn from an 8-inch drilled well, 180 
feet deep, owned by W. H. Sprinkle. At 63 feet below the surface 
this well enters the " Niagara" limestone, whence it procures its 
supply. 

A pump with a capacity of 110 gallons a minute is operated by a 
gasoline engine which forces water into a 500-barrel tank that stands 
50 feet above the ground. From this tank it is distributed to the 
users through 5 miles of 2 and 4 inch mains. Twenty-five hydrants 
are provided for fire protection, and direct pressure is used when 
needed. Nearly all the people in Galveston use the public supply, 
but there are a few private drilled wells, from 80 to 180 feet deep, 
one of which flows. 

Walton. — Walton, 9 miles southeast of Logansport, with a popula- 
tion in 1900 of 498, has no waterworks system. All the local water 
supplies are drawn from wells, of which many types are represented, 
open dug wells predominating. The wells range in depth from 15 to 
25 feet and they rarely fail, but those that stand near outhouses or 
other buildings are unsafe. In this village there are a few deeper 
drilled wells that enter rock at 60 to 100 feet below the surface and 
procure plentiful supplies of perfectly safe potable waters. (Analy- 
ses 18 and 19, p. 94.) Wells of this deeper type are strongly recom- 
mended. 

Young America. — Young America is a flourishing and progressive 
village in the southwest corner of the county, 9 miles from the nearest 
railroad station. Until within a few years all water has been obtained 
from dug wells, but the tendency of late has been to sink deep-drilled 
wells. The village is very favorably situated to procure the deeper 
supplies, for excellent potable waters (analysis No. 20, p. 94) are found 
here in limestone at depths of 60 to 80 feet, and when tapped the 
waters rise to within 20 feet of the surface. Under these conditions 
all of the shallower wells should be abandoned, and when this step is 
taken typhoid fever should be much less prevalent than it is now. 

Other communities. — A tabulated list follows of other communities 
in Cass County, with the conditions of water supply in each. 



CASS COUNTY. 



93 



Other village supplies in Cass County. 



Town. 



Popu- 
lation 

(1900). 



Adamsboro 


' 143 


Anoka 


86 




138 


Deacon 


40 


Georgetown 


100 
105 


Lake Cicott 


40 


Lincoln 


170 




30 




35 


New Waverley. . . 


280 


Onward 


175 


Twelve Mile 


100 




Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
....do 

....do 

....do 

Wells, drilled 

Wells, driven and 

dug. 
Wells, driven and 

drilled. 
AVells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, drilled and 

driven. 

....do 

Wells, driven, 

drilled, and dug. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, driven, 

drilled, and dug. 



Depth of wells. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 
below 
sur- 
face. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


Feet. 
16 


Feet. 
30 


Feet. 
25 


Feet. 
4 


Feet. 


16 


120 


20 


90 


■ 16 


20 
18 


80 
100 


30 

23 


"to 


10 


10 
20 


47 
45 


40 
45 


4 




27 


87 


30 






15 


115 


20 


56 


8 


20 


110 


60 




20 


60 
10 


90 
60 


70 
15 


8" 


15-30 
12 


9 


112 


16 


80 


9 


12 


120 


80 


280 





Character of 
water beds. 



Limestone. 

Gravel and 
limestone. 

Gravel. 

Gravel and 
limestone. 

Limestone. 

Gravel. 

Sand. 

Clay and 
limestone. 
Gravel. 

Do. 
Gravel and 
limestone. 
Do. 

Gravel. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

In the two following tables are given detailed information regard- 
ing typical wells in Cass County and analyses of their waters. The 
numbers in the last column of each table refer to identical wells in 

the other table. 

Records of typical wells in Cass County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


Depth. 


Type. 


© 

a 

s 


© 
© 

s 

ft 
© 


o g 
+ 1 

■8* 

& — 


6 

© © 

s 


M 

O 
Q 

s 

~ 

ft 
S3 
P 


a 

© 

o 

5 


£ 

3 

© 

ft 

s 

© 
Eh 


d 

3 

< 


1 


G. P. Dykeman.. 

B. Castaldi 

W. H. Sprinkle.. 

Pliny Morgan 

J. W. Griffin 

T. Saunders 

F. M. Million 




Feet. 
120 


Drilled 


In. 

4 

"r 


Ft. 
115 
80 

75 
30 
115 
100 

100 
447 

370 
100 

60 

18 


Ft. 
-15 


Limestone . 
do 


Ft. 
90 


Galls. 


°F. 


1 


9 


Dunkirk 

Galveston 

do 

5 miles W. of 
Galveston. 

Lake Cicott 

do 


80.. .do 

190 








91 


3 


-20 

+ 5 
+ 3 


do 

do 

do 

Sand 


m 






3 


4 
5 

6 


"i66(?) 

75 

30 

115 

600 

104 

447 

380 

1,606 

101 

618 

61 
18 
12 

290 


...do 

...do 2 

...do 2 




20 
10 


52 

52 


4 
2 


7 




do 








5 


8 


A. V. Watkins... 
Logansport Ice 
and Cold Stor- 
age Co. 

do 

City of Logans- 
port. 
do 


Lincoln 

Logansport 

do 

Riverside Park . 

Electric-1 i g h t 

plant. 
Logansport 

3| miles NE. of 

Logansport. 
Long cliff 

Lucerne . 


Drilled.. 
...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Driven. . 
Dug 


4 
8 

8 
8 

8 

6 

3 

8 

2 

H 


—16 Limestone . 


56 
2 

2 

8 

25 








9 





+21 

+ 3 

+ 

-50 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 








in 






8 


11 
1? 


1 

3. 
4 


54 


7 


13 


John W. Ken- 

nedv. 
J. S.Kline 

Northern Indiana 
Insane Asylum. 

John Winn 

D. J. Forgy 

Daniel Moon 

City waterworks . 

Schoolhouse 

W. S. Kepner 

Uriah Starry 

Public well 

Dr. N.W.Cody.. 






14 






q 


15 
16 


Limestone . 


9 


2 




12 

13 


17 


New Waverly... 
1 mile S. of On- 
ward. 
Royal Center. . . 
Twelve Mile 


do .. 








14 


18 


-1- 3 
- 6 


do 








15 


19 


Drilled 


6 


280 


16 


?0 


130 

78 


...do 










17 


?1 


do 


4 
4 
4 
5 


"65 


-10 

-10 
-20 


Limestone . 
Sandstone . 
Limestone . 
do 


70 
81 
60 






18 


99 


do 

Young America. 
Logansport 


106 
65 

87 


...do 

...do 

...do 






19 


?3 






9f1 


?A 






fi 



















94 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 95 

CLINTON COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Clinton County, in the western tier of the counties here discussed, 
has Carroll and Howard counties on the north, and Boone on the 
south. With an area of 402 square miles, it had in 1900 a popula- 
tion of 70 inhabitants to the square mile. Frankfort, the county seat, 
is 40 miles northwest of Indianapolis. 

Practically the whole of the county, which lies on the plateau 
between Wabash and White rivers, is to be classed as uplands. 
The surface slopes from an elevation of 900 feet above sea level in 
the southwest quarter to less than 700 feet in the valley of Middle 
Fork of Wild Cat Creek, where it crosses the west county line. 
Through the whole county the rock is overlain by a thick layer of 
glacial till, which has entirely obscured the topography of the under- 
lying rock. The present relief is entirely due to the form given to 
the surface deposits by the glacier and to the subsequent shaping of 
the materials by erosion. The greater part of the county is a level 
till plain, although in the north half there are several small areas of a 
few square miles each which are occupied by morainal drift, and in 
these areas the surface is less regular and the relief greater than in 
equal areas of till surface, although the moraines are nowhere very 
prominent topographic features. 

Clinton County has no large streams. Several creeks have their 
sources here, but only one, South Fork of Wild Cat Creek, flows 
across the county from a source outside of it. The valley of this 
creek north of Michigantown is merely a shallow dip in the till 
plain, but becomes gradually deeper toward the west. Middle Fork 
of Wild Cat Creek rises in the northeast corner of the county, flows 
northwest into Carroll County, and then curves southwest to reenter 
Clinton County and flows across its northwest corner. All the other 
creeks are small and have valleys that lie only a few feet below the 
plain. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

As there are no large, well-developed valleys, the alluvial deposits 
of the county are unimportant. In the lower courses of Middle and 
South Forks of Wild Cat Creek there are narrow flood plains of 
alluvium, and these deposits, even in small areas, are good water 
bearers. The water lies near the surface and the open gravels }deld 
their waters readily to wells. Driven wells are the cheapest and 
most satisfactory type for use in alluvium, but care should be taken 
not to drive the wells through the alluvium into the underlying till 
for the gravels are not of great depth in the small valleys. 



96 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

The moraines of this county are patchy in distribution (PL I) and 
occur only as rather thin deposits on top of the till. Wells in them 
locally find water above the till, but in most places it is necessary to 
go through the morainal beds into the till. Driven or drilled wells 
are commonly employed for this purpose. 

As shown in Plate I, the till occupies most of the surface of the 
county and is actually continuous over it, though covered locally 
by moraines. In the southwest corner of the county the rock is 
within 125 to 150 feet of the surface, but throughout the county the 
till probably averages 250 feet thick, and at Frankfort it is 275 feet 
and at Kirklin 300 feet to the underlying rock (PI. II). In this 
county the gravel beds of the till are in many places far below the 
surface or are too thin to supply much water. Consequently most 
of the wells are dug or open and are supplied by seepage from the 
close-textured till. Such wells, if dug below the level of the water 
table during the dry seasons, will usually supply enough water for 
family use. For the use of stock or for manufacturing purposes 
such wells are inadequate. Large users of water must supply them- 
selves from surface waters or put in deep drilled or driven wells, 
which are commonly successful in reaching gravel or sand beds. At 
Frankfort large quantities of water for the city supply are drawn 
from open gravel beds in the till. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The outcrops of three great groups of rocks extend across this 
county beneath the surface deposits, and occur as belts running 
from northwest to southeast (PI. III). At the east edge of the 
county the uppermost rocks are the Devonian limestones, the oldest 
of the three series. Next younger and uppermost in the central and 
northwest portions is the New Albany shale. In the extreme south- 
west corner of the county the highest rocks are the shales of the 
"Knobstone" group, of Mississippian age. These rocks have all 
been described in previous parts of this report. None of them fur- 
nishes water to the wells in Clinton County. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

At Alhambra Lake, one-quarter mile south of the court-house at 
Frankfort (PI. IV, No. 15), there is a single flowing well. As this 
well is below the surface of the lake, there was no opportunity to 
determine its yield. In 1884 there were five flowing wells at this 
lake, one of which yielded 96 gallons per minute, and the area in 
which flowing wells could be obtained was at that time much larger 
than it is now. Flowing wells could then be obtained all along the 
creek, and the water at the city pumping station would rise 6 feet 
above the surface. Alhambra Park was for many years a thriving 
resort, with boating and bathing in the lake. The artesian waters 



CLINTON COUNTY. 97 

were all obtained from a gravel bed, 65 feet below the surface, and 
the head is from the uplands near by. 

Area 16 extends from Manson eastward for about 4 miles along the 
creek. (PL IV, No. 16.) At Manson the wells are almost all driven 
into gravel in the till to depths of 35 to 45 feet, and although none of 
them flows constantly several flow at the surface in wet weather. 
One flowing well is reported two miles south of Frankfort. 

Two miles north of Kirklin there is a single flowing well in the 
lowlands (see PI. IV, No. 17), driven into gravel at 40 feet, from 
which the water will rise 9 feet above the surface. The artesian 
conditions are local, though probably other flows could be procured 
in the neighborhood, on ground as low as that near the existing well. 
The water comes from the higher ground not far away. 

There are a number of flowing wells along the valley of Middle Fork 
of Wild Cat Creek, north of Boyleston and Hillisburg and in the 
vicinity of Michigantown. (PL IV, No. 18.) The strongest of these, 
1 mile north of Michigantown, is driven over 100 feet through the 
till into gravel and is said to flow with a 1-inch stream. All the 
wells of this area are in the lowlands, and wells on higher ground 
striking the same gravel beds, would not flow. 

In the vicinity of Moran there are two flowing wells (PL IV, No. 19), 
one of which, on the property of N. E. White & Co. (No. 15, p. 100), 
is a dug well 19 feet deep. It obtained a flow of about 1 gallon per 
minute from a gravel bed, and a pump is used to raise the water to 
a convenient height. The second artesian well, 1J miles west of 
Moran (No. 16, p. 100), is a driven well 60 feet deep and flows almost 
enough to fill a 2-inch pipe. Though the above wells are some dis- 
tance apart and obtain their flows from different depths, they are 
both in the till and have been classed as in a single artesian area. 

Along the valley of North Fork of Wild Cat Creek, between Forest 
and the county line, and in the valley of the tributary east of Sedalia, 
there are five or six artesian wells (PL IV, No. 20), all of which are 
driven into gravel beds in the till, at depths of 35 to 100 feet. The 
waters from these gravels have just enough head to give flows in the 
valleys. The conditions for flows seem to be favorable along much 
of this valley, if the wells are located on low enough ground. Records 
of these wells are given on page 100. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Frankfort. — Frankfort, the county seat, is the only city in Clinton 
County which has a public water supply. It lies 3 miles southwest 
of the geographic center of the county, and its population in 1900 was 
7,100. The waterworks of this city are the property of the Frankfort 
Water Works Company, and the water is drawn from 12 drilled 

46448°— wsp 254—10 7 



98 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

wells, 6 inches in diameter. One well penetrates to a depth of 208 
feet into an 8-foot stratum of sand, and formerly flowed with a head 
6 feet above the surface. For the last twenty years this head. has 
gradually become lower, and the well has long since ceased to flow. 
The other wells are about 82 feet deep, and a gravel bed is reported 
at 55 feet. The water from this gravel enters the Well and formerly 
rose under artesian pressure almost to the surface. The head is now 
20 feet below the surface. Although the wells are situated in the 
center of the town, the gravel bed from which the water comes is 
protected above by impervious blue clay and hardpan, and should 
be safe from contamination. There has been some complaint that 
the water is turbid, but on the whole the supply seems to be very 
good. Direct pressure is used, the water being pumped from a 
400,000-gallon reservoir into the mains. There are now over 16 
miles of mains of thin wrought iron lined with concrete. In 1907 the 
company was engaged in laying 7 miles of additional mains, part of 
this work being already completed at the time the town was visited. 
There are about 2,000 services, and 75 per cent of the people of 
Frankfort use this water, requiring about 1,000,000 gallons per day. 

Many families in this city stdl use water from private wells, most 
of which are driven to depths of 30 to 60 feet and obtain good water 
from the gravels. Unfortunately many shallow dug wells are still 
in use. Some of these, when examined, showed strong evidences of 
pollution by their appearance and odor. Cesspools and wells were 
found side by side and the one very evidently was in direct connec- 
tion with the other. Analyses 3 and 4 (p. 101) are of the waters of 
two dug wells that show evidences of the presence of sewage. 

From water-well borings and from the record of a well sunk for 

gas the geologic section at Frankfort has been found to be as follows : 

— f 
Log of well drilled for gas at Frankfort® 

Feet. 

Clay and hardpan with some gravel 55 

Gravel 32 

Till 113 

Sand 8 

Till 70- 

. Niagara limestone and shale 380 1 

Trenton [meant for Clinton] 10 

Hudson River and Utica shale 400 

Trenton limestone 260 

1,328 
Colfax. — Colfax, a village of 768 inhabitants (1900), is in the south- 
west corner of the county. It has no public water system and the 
water used is drawn from private wells. Most of these are open 
wells, 15 to 25 feet deep, though a few wells, driven and drijfed to 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 245. 



CLINTON COUNTY. 99 

depths of 40 to 50 feet are used. The water rises within 6 or 8 feet 
of the surface, but no flows have been found. The deeper wells go 
through the till into gravels and get pure, safe water. An analysis 
of water from a depth of 102 feet is No. 2 (p. 101). The dug wells are 
very likely to become polluted, and are not safe to use when located 
in a town and surrounded by barnyards and privies. 

KirJclin. — Kirklin, in southeastern Clinton County, is situated on 
the till plain about a mile south of Sugar Creek. The water supply 
is drawn from dug and driven wells and cisterns, and no public 
water supply has been installed. Most of the wells in use are dug 
wells less than 30 feet in depth. There are, however, a number of 
driven wells, the deepest of which extend to more than 100 feet below 
the surface. None reach bed rock, the water being obtained from gravel 
beds. Under the town there are three gravel beds which may be 
encountered, the first at 15 to 20 feet, the second at 50 to 60 feet, 
and the third at 100 to 115 feet. The shallowest of these is the one 
most commonly drawn upon, but the water at this depth is not safe 
from pollution. From time to time, there has been considerable 
typhoid fever in this town, doubtless due to the use of shallow wells. 
The water in the second gravel is very much safer, and that from the 
third gravel is subject to but very slight chance of becoming con- 
taminated. Analyses of the third gravel waters are Nos. 7 and 8 
(p. 101). 

Rossville. — Eossville, in the northwest part of the county, is on a 
rolling plain. The source of supply is from wells, which are about 
equally divided between the dug and driven types. The most com- 
mon depth for wells is 30 feet, though some are shallower and some 
deeper. The water is obtained from gravel beds which occur at 
about 25 to 30 feet, and at 40 feet. The general health of the town 
has been good, but the 40-foot wells are recommended as a much 
safer source of supply than the shallower ones. An analysis of water 
from a depth of 40 feet is No. 12 (p. 101). 

Mulberry. — Mulberry, 8 miles northwest of Frankfort, is supplied 
almost altogether from dug wells, which range from 12 to 30 feet in 
depth and in which the water from gravel beds rises within 12 feet 
of the surface. Two deeper wells were sunk but were unsuccessful, 
as both encountered quicksand at a depth of about 100 feet and had 
to be abandoned. As the shallow gravel beds seem to be the only 
available source of supply, it would be advisable to sink driven wells 
to these gravels. These wells, if properly cased, would be superior to 
the loosely walled dug wells, because water could enter them only from 
the bottom. The open wells receive water through their walls from 
all depths and are subject to pollution from many sources. 

Other communities. — A list of other villages with particulars regard- 
ing their water supply is given in the following table. 



100 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Other village supplies of Clinton County. 



Town. 



Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 



Source. 



Depth of wells. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


Feet. 


Feet. 


Feet. 


20 


101 


25 


15 


45 


33 


10 


18 


15 


15 


100 


30 


20 


110 


40 


15 


64 


40 


20 


82 


26 


35 


45 


40 


19 


125 


23 


20 


70 


60 


15 


60 


25 


15 


150 


35 


30 


135 


40 


15 


80 


20 



Head 
above 
Depth ( + )or 
to rock, below 
(-) sur- 



Charac- 
ter of 
water 
beds. 



Beard 

Bovleston 

Edna Mills.... 

Forest 

Greetingsville. 

Hillisburg 

Jefferson 

Manson 

Michigantown 
Middlefork. . . . 

Moran 

Pickard 

Scircleville 

Sedalia 



34 
120 

72 



100 
175 
417 
119 
200 
150 

167 

300 



Wells, dug and driven... 

do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Wells, driven 

Wells, dug and driven... 

....do 

....do 

Wells, dug, driven, and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and driven... 
do 



Feet. 



Feet. 



225 



-5 to -10 



Oto- 3 

to -12 

+4 to - 6 

Oto- 3 

-13 

-12 
-12 



Gravel. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

In the two following tables are given detailed information regard- 
ing typical wells in Clinton County and analyses of their waters. 
The last column of each table gives the numbers of identical wells in 
the other table. 

Records of typical wells in Clinton County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


- 


o5 

ft 


a> 

I 

5 


1 

*-° 

a 
Q 


gSoS 

c O S. 

M 


Water-bear- g 

ing mate- o 

rials. ~ 

ft 


o3 

- 

B 
5 
I- 


6 

(3 

a 
< 


1 


G. T.Myers 

Wm. Powers 


Ft. 
1 mile SW. of 3.V Driven.. 


In. 
U 

2 
2 

8 
6 


Ft. 
35 

80 
86 

"50 

15 


Ft. 

-15 

- 8 

— 6 


Ft. 
Gravel 


Gils. 


1 


2 


Bovlestown. 
Colfax 


102 Drilled.. 
216 -do 


do 




o 


3 


.do.... 


...do.... 






4 


W. H. Davis... 




100 
82 


...do 

...do 

Dug 


-20 










Frankfort Water 
Works Co. 

Milton Oliver 

D. A. Coulter.. . 










6 


do 

...do 


15 
20 




do 

do.... 




3 


7 


...do 




4 


8 


James I. Miller 

Bert McKinnev — 
R. C. Gorham .*.... 
Marion Anderson. . 

M.E.Miller 

F. Ridenow 

John Revis 

N. E. White & Co. 

Markwood Slipher. 

Dr. I. S. Earhart.. 

Rossville Bank 

Charles Fulkerson. 

H. F. Cheney 

John Kemner 




83 
52 
102 
an 


Driven. . 






-18 


...do.... 




6 


q 




...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Dug 


2 
2 

n 

2 

n 


50 

100 
80 

"65 
30 

19 
60 

21 
40 

40 

"'88 
115 


do.... 






10 

11 


do 


-16 
-12 

-14 
+ 3 

+ 


do 

do.... 




7 


12 
13 

14 


son. 

Michigantown 120 

Middlefork 65 

fmileX. of Middle- 65 

fork. 

Moran 19 

U miles W. of Mo- 60 

ran. 
Mulberry 21 


do 

do 




6 


'9 


1=i 


+ 2 




Gravel . 




1 1 


16 

17 


Driven.. 
Dug 


2 


+ 3 

-15 


do 

do 






11 


18 


Drilled.. 


2| 
2h 

3 

2 
3 


-30 


do 






19, 


19 
20 


Sec. 25 T. 21, 

R. 1 E. 
Sec. 24, R. 1 W., 

Owen township. 


40 

46 

46 
90 
115 


Driven.. 

...do 

...do 

Drilled.. 
...do 


+ 9 

+ 7 

-20 
-37 


do 

do 

do 

...do 




24 
12 




22 


do.... 




23 


Simms & Ash- 
paugh. 


Scircleville 


do 






13 



CLINTON COUNTY. 



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102 UNDERGROUND WATERS OE NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

ELKHART COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AXD DRAINAGE. 

Elkhart County, in the northeastern corner of this area and at the 
north edge of the State, is rectangular in outline, measuring 21 miles 
from east to west and somewhat more than 22 miles from the north to 
the south border. The total area is approximately 470 square miles 
and the average population (1900) 96 to the square mile. The county 
seat, Goshen, is near the center of the county, and lies 92 miles east of 
Chicago and 125 miles north of Indianapolis. 

Elkhart County has a topography of great diversity. From St. 
Joseph River north to the county line, and for some distance south 
of that stream, the country is low and has very slight relief, and this 
flat area extends to the southeast corner of the eountv, along: the 
valley of Elkhart River (PL I). At the edges of the flat area, moraine 
ridges rise sharply from the plain. South of Bristol the highest 
points of the moraine are over 200 feet above the flat and reach an 
altitude of over 1,000 feet above sea level. Xo other county in the 
area here treated has so great a range of elevation as Elkhart County, 
the surface of which rises from less than 750 in the valley of St. 
Joseph River to over 1,000 feet at a number of points. The south- 
west corner, though covered by glacial deposits, consists of a rolling 
plain of low relief, and is not so high as the moraine-covered areas. 
The surface features of the count}' are entirely due to the form of the 
unconsolidated materials, as only in the deepest valley, that of St. 
Joseph River, have borings reached rock, which here lies 120 to 160 
feet below the surface. In the high moraines the surface deposits 
have doubtless a thickness of 250 to 400 feet. 

Elkhart County lies wholly within the basin of St. Joseph River, 
which enters the county from the north, near Bristol, and, flowing 
somewhat south of west as far as Elkhart, turns west to enter St. 
Joseph County. The stream occupies a rather narrow channel in a 
very wide valley of alluvial materials. The principal tributary is 
Elkhart River, which flows across the county from southeast to 
northwest. Like that of the St. Joseph, its valley is wide and con- 
tains extensive alluvial beds. Bauge Creek, Pine Creek, and Little 
Elkhart River are other tributaries to the St. Joseph from the south- 
east. It receives no important branches from the north. 

There are about a score of small lakes in the count}' which occupy 
depressions in the moraines. The largest is Simonton Lake, 4 
miles north of Elkhart, and its area is but little more than one-half 
square mile. 



ELKHART COUNTY. 103 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Alluvial deposits here have a considerable area and. are of great 
importance as water producers. They lie on both sides of St. Joseph 
River, the alluvial flat ranging from 3 to 5 miles in width. Alluvium 
also occurs in a strip from 1 to 3 miles wide along the Elkhart River 
valley. At Elkhart wells penetrate about 34 feet of gravel and sand 
before they strike the underlying glacial clay. . At Bristol the deepest 
wells have been sunk only 30 feet and have failed to reach the bottom 
of the alluvium. At Goshen, which is near the edge of the alluvial 
plain, the gravels are thinner but increase in depth toward the 
valley center. 

Bordering the terminal moraines and occupying the gentler slopes 
below them there are in some places plains of alluvial material of 
different origin from the above-described valley deposits. These are 
outwash plains of the kind described on page 31. 

Underground water is abundant throughout almost the entire 
alluvial area, for rainfall is rapidly absorbed at the surface and the 
relief is so slight that the waters are not readily drained from the 
lowlands, while the open and porous character of the beds makes the 
water readily available. The very fact that deep wells are absent 
in these alluvial areas is a sufficient indication that satisfactory 
supplies can be obtained at moderate depths. Driven wells from 
15 to 30 feet deep are commonly used, and for household or farm 
uses these have proved satisfactory. 

The moraines have a greater surface area than any other class 
of deposits in Elkhart County, occupying about one-half the surface. 
They all lie south of St. Joseph River, and there is a sharp topographic 
break between the alluvial plain along this river valley and the 
ridgelike moraines. Much of the surface is strewn with large and 
small bowlders. Driven or drilled wells are preferred in these 
deposits, as with them it is possible to go to greater depths if water is 
not found near the surface. The wells range in depth from 15 to 200 
feet and the best supplies of water are usually found in gravel or 
sand beds in the clay. 

It is probable that the till underlies all the other surface deposits 
of the county and exists as a continuous sheet below them and above 
the rock, although it occupies the surface only in the southwest 
corner of the county (PI. I). There the topography is that of a 
rolling plain, broken only by the shallow valleys of small streams. 
Few surface cuts show gravel beds in the till, but the drill commonly 
reveals their presence at some depth. The clayey portions of the 
till yield water slowly to wells, and to procure satisfactory quantities 
of water it is commonly necessary to sink open wells of large surface 
area from 15 to 40 feet in depth to obtain the seepage from the clay. 
Driven and drilled wells are generally successful in procuring abundant 
water in beds of gravel. 



104 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 
CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

A study of the position, succession, and character of rock beds in 
this county explains why the rock beds here have never been utilized 
as a source of water supplies and demonstrates that these rock 
waters can never be exploited to any great extent. A well boring at 
Elkhart (PL I), in the lowest portion of the county, shows the surface 
deposits to be 122 feet deep. Below this there is a thickness of 429 
feet of shales which yields no water. It is therefore 551 feet clown to 
the first rock formation, the "Corniferous v limestone of the well 
drillers, which might be expected to yield abundant supplies of water, 
and even this water would be likely to contain objectionable quanti- 
ties of sulphur and salt. In the higher portions of the county, where 
the glacial deposits are thicker, an additional 100 or even 200 feet 
must be added to the above depth at which limestone will be encoun- 
tered. The cost of such deep borings will prevent them from ever 
becoming common, and underground waters must be obtained from 
the surface materials. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

In and about the city of Elkhart, along the lowlands of St. Joseph 
River, is an area in which about a dozen flowing wells have been 
obtained (PL IV, No. 21), the best known of which are at Island and 
McNaughton parks. These wells are reported to obtain the flowing 
waters from sand and gravel beds at depths of 60 to 90 feet. As 
shown in the well log on page 105, the water-bearing beds are pro- 
tected from pollution from above by many feet of close-grained blue 
till. Flows can be obtained only in the bottom lands, where the 
waters will rise 2 or 3 feet above the surface. On higher ground the 
same artesian waters may be encountered by wells, but the head is 
sufficient to carry the water only a few feet above the level of the 
river. An analysis of water from the Island Park flowing well is 
No. 11 (p. 109). 

Area 22 (PL IV) includes the low ground in and near Wakarusa, 
where there are 10 or 15 flowing wells and a large number in which 
the water is under artesian pressure but does not rise to the surface. 
The flows are all obtained from a gravel bed lying from 28 to 40 
feet below the surface of the till. The wells are all driven, and the 
pipe most used is 1J inches in diameter. None of the wells gives a 
large flow, but the yield, from a fraction of a gallon to 5 gallons per 
minute, continues throughout the year. The temperature of the 
wells tested was 51° F. An analysis of the water from one of these 
wells is No. 21 (p. 109). 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Elkhart. — Elkhart lies at the junction of Elkhart and St. Joseph 
rivers and in 1900 had a population of 15,184. The public water 
system, installed in 1884, is owned by the Elkhart Water Company, 



ELKHART COUNTY. 105 

a private corporation. The water is drawn from three dug wells, 
34 feet deep, two of which are 40 and the other 30 feet in diameter. 
The materials penetrated were sand and gravel, clay being encoun- 
tered at the bottom. The wells, situated at the edge of the town, in 
a grove owned by the water company, are a considerable distance from 
the nearest dwellings and outhouses, and the supply seems to be a 
very satisfactory one. The city health officer reports that no case of 
typhoid fever has ever been traced to the city water. There is some 
objection, however, to a yellowish color which the water has after a 
fire has necessitated more than the ordinary pumping. The extra 
pressure tends to loosen deposits of iron which have formed in the 
mains, and this discoloration of the water lasts for a few hours. 
Up to the present time the supply from the wells has been sufficient 
for all purposes. The company has an emergency connection with 
Christiana Creek, so that in case of fire an additional supply can be 
obtained, 

Direct pressure is used to supply about 33 miles of mains, which 
range from 6 to 24 inches in diameter. There are 3,320 taps, and it 
is estimated that about one-fourth of the people of Elkhart use this 
water, from 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 gallons per day being required to 
meet the demand. 

About three-fourths of the people of this city still use private wells, 
most of which are driven, though many dug wells are still in use. 
The common depth from which water is drawn is 25 feet, or practi- 
cally the same depth as the city wells, but the waters of private wells 
are more likely to become contaminated, for many of them are 
located near houses where kitchen slops are thrown out, and are often 
close to dug privy vaults. In the open-textured gravels and sands 
the liquids from these quickly penetrate to the ground-water table 
and become a part of the water supply. It is probable that safer 
waters could be secured from beds of gravel in the underlying till. 
From a deep boring for gas and from shallow well records, the follow- 
ing succession of beds has been determined for this vicinity : a 

Log of well drilled for gas at Elkhart. 



Soil, etc 

Sand and gravel 

Blue clay 

Subcarboniferous gray sbale. 

Hamilton blue shale 

Corniferous limestone. 



Thick- 
ness. 



Feet. 

5 

29 



213 
215 



Depth. 



Feet. 
5 

34 
122 
335 
550 



a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 242. 



106 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Goshen. — Goshen lies on Elkhart River, near the center of the 
county. The public waterworks, built in 1880, are owned by the 
city, and the water is drawn from Rock Run and from two dug wells, 
24 and 36 feet deep and 24 and 40 feet in diameter. They are dug 
through gravel, the walls being cemented, so that water can enter only 
from the bottom. The water from these wells is unsatisfactory. One 
of them is situated near the gas plant, and the water is covered with 
a thick, greasy scum and has a decided odor. Part of the city water 
comes from Rock Run, which flows for more than a mile through the 
edge of the town before it reaches the waterworks. There are many 
dwellings, barns, and outhouses along its course, and pollution from 
some of these sources is almost certain. 

The city water is pumped by steam pumps to a standpipe 146 feet 
high, from which the water is distributed by gravity to 25 miles of 
mains ranging from 4 to 20 inches in diameter. An average of 
1,500,000 gallons per day is needed to supply 1,800 services and 292 
fire hydrants. In case of fire the standpipe is cut off and direct 
pressure is used. 

The city has spent large sums of money in trying to obtain well 
water at the city plant. It is reported that $70,000 was spent in 
completing one dug well. 

In the south part of the town the supply of underground water is 
very abundant. All driven wells have encountered plentiful waters 
at depths of 30 feet or less, and excavations for buildings are difficult 
on account of the inflow of ground waters. A fine city supply could 
be obtained by drilling shallow wells into the gravel a little distance 
beyond the settled portion of the town. An analysis of water from 
these gravels is No. 16 (p. 109). 

About 20 per cent of the people of this city use private wells for 
domestic purposes, and a number of manufacturing establishments 
also have their own wells, most of which are driven, though there are 
still a few dug wells in use. All penetrate into gravel, and they range 
in depth from 18 to 90 feet. No water wells strike bed rock, for the 
record of an old gas boring shows that the rock here lies 165 feet below 
the surface. The log of this well is as follows: ° 

Log of well drilled for gas at Goshen. 

Feet. 

Drift 165 

Shale, Subcarboniferous and Devonian 308 

Corniferous limestone 60 

Water lime 32 

Niagara limestone 728 

Hudson River limestone and shale 307 

Utica shale 215 

Trenton limestone 239 

2,054 
a Sixteenth Ann. Kept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 246. 



ELKHART COUNTY. 107 

Nappanee. — Nappanee owns its own waterworks, the water for 
which is drawn from three drilled wells 160 feet deep, two 6 inches 
and one 12 inches in diameter. The town is situated on a rolling till 
plain and the waters are found in gravel beds below the till. The 
water is pumped by steam to a 75,000-gallon tank 116 feet high, from 
which it is distributed by gravity. There are 4 miles of 8, 6, and 
4 inch mains and 315 taps, and about half of the people use this water. 

Besides the public supply there are many private wells in Nappanee. 
Most of them are driven, but some are drilled and a few dug. Only 
the dug wells are shallow and receive the water by seepage from the 
till, while the driven and drilled wells are 60 to 120 feet deep, the 
common depth being about 70 feet. The water comes from gravel 
beds, and for domestic uses the supply seems to be an admirable one. 

Wakarusa. — Wakarusa, on a rolling till plain 10 miles southwest of 
Goshen, has no public water supply. The wells are driven and drilled 
and range in depth from 15 to 165 feet. The most common depth is 
35 feet, and all the wells enter gravel. There are many flowing wells 
in the town which afford an excellent supply (Nos. 18, 19, 20, p. 108). 
An analysis of the water from one of these flowing wells is No. 21 
(p. 109). 

Middleburg. — Middleburg is situated on an alluvial plain at the 
base of a very high, steep moraine ridge. Almost every family has 
its owji private driven or drilled well, and there is no public supply. 
As a result of the topographic situation of this town the conditions for 
obtaining wells differ greatly in short distances. In the alluvium it 
is rarely necessary to drive a well more than 30 feet deep to obtain 
plenty of water, but on the moraine a depth of 150 feet is in some 
places required before a satisfactory supply is obtained. 

Bristol. — In Bristol, on the great St. Joseph River alluvial plain, 
the wells are all driven and all have reached unfailing water. The 
deepest well in town is but 25 feet deep, and the depth of the alluvium 
at this place is not known. The water rises in the wells within 10 or 
12 feet of the surface, and even the driest seasons fail to lower the 
head to any noticeable extent. 

Millersburg. — Millersburg is situated on a low moraine in the south- 
east part of the county. All the wells here are driven, usually to a 
depth of about 28 feet. The deepest well in town is 65 feet deep 
and does not reach rock. The water supply comes from a gravel bed 
in the moraine and rises within 18 feet of the surface. 

Rural districts. — In the rural districts the conditions vary with the 
material at the surface. In alluvial areas driven wells are largely 
used and are generally not sunk to depths of more than 30 feet. 
Water is more difficult to obtain in the morainic deposits, and driven 
or drilled wells, ranging in depth from 15 to 200 feet, are most com- 
mon, the water being usually found in gravel in the drift. In 



108 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



those portions of the county where the till comes to the surface the 
conditions for wells are least favorable. Here dug wells are most 
common, and the water is yielded to them slowly by seepage. Deep 
drilled wells, almost without exception, encounter water-bearing 
gravel beds in the till if they reach sufficient depths. 

Other communities. — A list of other villages in Elkhart County, 
with particulars of their water supply, is contained in the following 

table: 

Other village supplies of Elkhart County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Head 
below 
surface. 


Character of water 
beds. * 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 




181 
33 
52 

50 


Wells, driven 


Feet. 
10 
18 
60 

25 
25 
10 
45 

20 
10 


Feet. 
20 
28 
125 

65 
110 

50 
135 

30 
20 


Feet. 
15 
25 
80 

50 
65 
15 
45 

25 
16 


Feet. 
3-8 
14 




Dunlaps 

Foraker 


....do. . 


Do 


Wells, driven and 
drilled. 






6-12 


Do. 




do 


Do. 




456 
52 

141 


...do.... 


8 




SouthWest.... 


Wells, driven and 

drilled. 
Wells, driven 






8 

8 






.do 


Do. 











TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

In the following two tables are given the records of typical wells in 
Elkhart County and analyses of their waters. The last column in 
each table gives numbers referring to identical wells in the other 

table. 

Records of typical wells in Elkhart County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


ft 
P 


Type. 


03 

"S 
S 

C3 

P 


T3 

3 

.03 

o 

Si 

ft 
a> 
P 


Ml 

■si 


Water- 
bearing 
material. 


Q 

O 

O 

si 

ft 

03 

p 


03 

D 

a 

E 

03 
ft 

* 


2 

3 

03 

ft 

1 


d 

>> 

a 
< 


1 


Town well 


Bristol 

Elkhart 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Goshen 

do 


Ft. 
22 

34 
85 
80 
25 

124 
80 
20 
36 

80 
25 

25 
26 
24 
28 
160 
15 
28 
30 
60 


Driven.. 
Dug 


In. 
Ii 

a 40 
2 

2 

n 

9 


Ft. 
22 

30 

80 
80 
25 

65 
65 
20 
20 
80 
20 

20 
26 
24 
28 
100 
15 
28 
30 
60 


Ft. 
-10 

- 6 
+ 3 

ii 


Gravel and 

sand. 
Gravel 


Ft. 


Galls. 


°F. 




?, 


Elkhart Water Co.... 

Island Park 

McNaughtons Park . . 
Chicago Telephone 
Supply Co. 

R. L. Evans 

M.W.Huston 

SidwayMercantileCo. 
City waterworks 








1,2,8 


3 

4 


Drilled 
...do... 
Driven 

...do... 
...do... 
...do... 

Dug... 

Driven 
...do... 

...do... 

...do... 

...do... 

...do... 
Drilled 
Driven 

...do... 

...do... 

...do... 




...do 

---do 

...do 




10 




3 


6 


+ o 


...do 


122 








7 
8 
9 
10 


2 

-i 2 
.a 40 
■I 1ft 

-I n 
- ii 

-i ii 


+ 2 
-12 

- 2 

"-18 

-13 
—12 

""-18 

-40 

- 8 
+ 2 
+ 7 
+ 2 


...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 


2 

5 
4 


"hi 

51 
51 


'"is 


11 

12 
13 
14 


Goshen Manufactur- 

Co. 
Banta Furniture Co. . 
L. J. Pritchard 


do 

do 

Jamestown.. 

Middleburg . 

Millersburg . 

Nappanee. . . 

New Paris... 

Wakarusa... 

do 

do 


16 
17 


15 
16 
17 


do 

Public supply 




1J 

6 

li 
li 
li 
li 


18 
19 
20 


18 
19 
20 


Henry Wagner 

Irene Smeltzer 

Leroy Mullenauer 


21 



a Feet. 



ELKHAET COUNTY. 



109 



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110 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

FULTON COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Fulton County is in the western tier of counties of this area and is 
bordered on the north by Marshall and Kosciusko counties and on 
the south by Cass and Miami. It is irregular in outline and is notched 
on its east edge by the corners of Kosciusko and Miami counties. It 
has an area of 382 square miles, and had, in 1900, a population of 
17,453, or an average of 45 inhabitants to the square mile. The 
county seat is Rochester. 

The surface is of mild relief and a large part of it lies between 750 
and 800 feet above sea level. At the southwest corner and in that 
part of the Tippecanoe Valley which lies northwest of Rochester the 
land surface falls below the 750-foot level, but in the narrow east end 
of the county it reaches a height of 900 feet. (See PL I.) Almost 
all of the county may be classed as uplands. A great interlobate 
moraine (PL I) crosses the southeast and east edges of this area, and 
the Tippecanoe River valley forms the south border of the great 
Maxinkuckee moraine. A narrow belt of low moraine also extends 
across the county from north to south near its western edge, and 
there is still another patch of moraine southeast of Rochester, in 
which Lake Manitau has its basin. In all of the morainic areas the 
surface is rolling and irregular. On either side of Tippecanoe River, 
and extending from this valley through the center of the county 
southward as far as Rochester, is a plain formed of alluvial sands and 
gravels which have locally been blown to form low dune ridges. 
That part of the surface which is not occupied by morainal or alluvial 
material consists of gently undulating till plains. (See PL I.) 

Fulton County contains about two dozen natural lakes and ponds. 
The largest of these, Manitau Lake, near Rochester, has an area of 
little more than a square mile, while most of them only occupy a few 
acres of ground. All are in the moraine-covered portions of the 
county and lie in depressions in the irregular surface of the moraines. 

Tippecanoe River, in the north part of the county, is its only 
important stream. Its valley makes a great crescentic curve around 
the south edge of the Maxinkuckee moraine, and the stream bed is 
not more than 30 or 40 feet below the alluvial plain to the south. 
With the exception of a small area in its extreme southeast corner, 
the entire county drains into the Tippecanoe. The principal tribu- 
taries are Grass, Mill, Mud, and Chippewanuck creeks from the south 
and Eddv Creek from the north. 



FULTON COUNTY. Ill 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

As stated above, the alluvial deposits of Fulton County are of con- 
siderable extent in the Tippecanoe Valley and cover a part of the 
plain to the south of it. The alluvium consists of gravels and clayey 
sand and was here deposited beyond the edge of the retreating glacier 
by the streams which flowed from it. The surface is flat and has 
suffered little from stream erosion. West of Rochester the winds 
have blown the alluvial sands into low ridges or dunes. 

Throughout the area of alluvial deposits (PL I) the ground-water 
supply is abundant and easily obtained. In the valley of the Tippe- 
canoe and in the prairie west of Rochester only driven wells are used. 
These wells are obtained easily by driving a lj-inch pipe with a per- 
forated point 20 or 30 feet into the sand or gravel. Some of the) 
wells become clogged with fine sand, but if gravel beds can be reached,, 
this trouble is avoided. 

Over most of the morainal areas, shown in Plate I, the morainal 
drift is only moderately thick and the relief is mild. The most 
vigorous moraine of the county lies north of Tippecanoe River in the 
neighborhood of Tiosa and Richland Center. In the, high moraine in 
northern Fulton County the wells are almost all driven or drilled. 
The shallowest are about 30 feet deep, but occasionally it has been 
necessary to sink wells 150 or even 200 feet. The best supplies 
of water are always found "in gravel or coarse sand beds, which in the 
areas of thin morainal drift can commonly be reached at depths 
less than 100 feet. 

The occurrence of the till at the surface is shown in Plate I. The 
surface is in some parts a flat featureless plain, but more generally 
it consists of gentle, wavelike undulations with the crests only a few 
feet above the troughs. In those areas where the till occurs at the 
surface it extends downward to bed rock, which is everywhere more 
than 150 feet below the surface, and it therefore follows that all 
wells of ordinary depth must get their water in the till. For this 
reason dug wells, which obtain the water by slow seepage from the 
clayey till, are most common. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

In only two towns in the county were records obtained of wells 
which have penetrated to bed rock. At Rochester rock was found 
at 150 feet and at Kewanna 170 feet below the surface. Deep bor- 
ings in the surrounding country show the surface deposits to reach 
similar thicknesses. With such meager data it has been impossible 
to ascertain closely the distribution of the various rock formations 
beneath the glacial deposits. Furthermore, up ts\ the. present time 



112 U2sDEEGK0UXD WATEBS OF XORTH-CEXTEAL TXDTAX4, 

it has nowhere been necessary in this county to go to rock for water 
supplies and no wells now receive then supplies from the rock. If, 
occasion should arise in the future for seeking additional water- 
bearing beds, it is likely that water will be found in the Silurian 
(/'Niagara"' limestone which here underlies the surface deposits. 
The Silurian waters are discussed on pages 42-43. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

At Talma, which lies on a gravel terrace along Tippecanoe River 
(PL IV. Xo. 23), there are three flowing wells and others in which 
the water rises nearly to the surface. These wells are all about 30 
feet deep, the water coming from a gravel bed below hardpan. One 
bored well. 12 inches in diameter (Xo. 14. p. 115), for many years 
yielded 36 barrels of water per hour, but its flow has now diminished 
somewhat. In this area flows can be expected only from wells in 
the lowlands near the river. 

Several flowing wells are reported to occur in an area 2 miles east 
of Lake Manitau. 'PI. IV. Xo. 24. The surface is here covered by 
a moraine of low relief, and the artesian waters are doubtless obtained 
from local gravel beds in the moraine. Xo information could be 
obtained in regard to the character or depth of the wells. 

In the valley of Grass Creek. 2 miles southwest of the town of the 
same name, there is a fine flowing well (PI. IV. Xo. 25' 2 inches in 
diameter and 35 feet deep. The water, from a gravel bed. rises 4 
feet above the surface, and the flow is about 20 gallons per minute. 
The yield diminishes somewhat in the dry months of the summer. 
showing that the head of the water is local and that the supply fur- 
nished by the rainfall on the surface is at no great distance from the 
well. Other flowing wells could doubtless be obtained in the neighbor- 
ing lowlands. 

Flowing wells have been obtained in the lower portions of the city 
of Rochester. (PL IV. Xo. 26. In 1SS7 a deep well was bored for 
gas and encountered artesian waters which for a while had sufficient 
pressure to rise in the pipe 8 feet above the surface. It is not known 
certainly from what depth this flow came. In 1907 another flowing 
well was obtained. (Xo. 12. p. 115.) This well was driven 72 feet 
into a gravel bed. and flows about 2 gallons per minute S feet above 
the surface of the ground. Probably other flows could be obtained 
from this same gravel at points near by. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Rochester. — Rochester, the county seat of Fulton County, lies on 
the edge of an alluvial plain which extends westward from the city 
for several miles and north to Tippecanoe River, while southeast of 
the city the surface is covered with moraine deposits. The city 



FULTON COUNTY. 113 

installed a waterworks system in 1893, the water being drawn from 
an old mill race fed by Manitau Lake, a shallow lake lying in the low 
moraine a mile southeast of the city. The lake itself is surrounded 
by timber and open land and should afford a good city supply, for 
although there are a number of houses along its shores there should 
be little difficulty in preventing pollution of the lake water from 
these. The water is soft, and though not well suited for drinking 
it is otherwise of good quality. Unfortunately the water is not 
drawn directly from the lake but flows for about three-fourths of a 
mile through an old mill race and is drawn from this near the pumping 
works. Between the lake and the intake pipe the race is open, and 
there is every opportunity for it to become polluted. Privies and 
barns line the banks in town, and the drainage from these and from 
kitchen slops and swill barrels can enter this open ditch, which itself 
is foul with weeds and debris. A pipe line directly to the lake from 
the pumping works would greatly increase the safety of this source 
of supply. 

The city water is pumped from the mill race to a standpipe, holding 
105,000 gallons, from which it is distributed by direct pressure to 
10 miles of mains. About one-fourth of the people are supplied by 
the city and use an average of 400,000 gallons per day. Each family 
has a private well for drinking water, and the city water is only used 
for other domestic purposes, for irrigation, and for industrial purposes. 

At Rochester wells may be sunk cheaply and with great probability 
of success. The underlying materials are alluvial gravel and fine 
sands and silts. Driven wells, from 15 to 80 feet deep, are numerous 
and almost without exception find never-failing supplies of good 
water. Some few wells have gone deeper than 80 feet, but the most 
abundant waters are found at moderate depths. Analyses of gravel 
waters from this city appear on page 1 16 of this report. As shown by 
the records of many shallower wells and of one deep- boring at Roches- 
ter, the succession of beds is about as follows : 

Generalized section of the strata at Rochester a 

Feet. 

Alluvium 35 

Glacial till 115 

Subcarboniferous and Devonian shale 395 

Devonian and Silurian limestones 525 

Hudson River and Utica shales 391 

Trenton. 

Kewanna. — The town of Kewanna installed public waterworks in 
1907, the supply being drawn from a 10-inch drilled well, 150 feet in 
depth, which penetrated a gravel bed in the till and yielded a large 
volume of water when tested. A pneumatic pressure system operated 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 257. 
46448°— wsp 254—10 8 



114 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

by a gasoline engine is used. The water is pumped into two tanks 
10 feet in diameter and 30 feet long, partly filled with air, and from 
the tanks the water is forced by the air pressure through the mains. 
At the time the town was visited (October 25, 1907) about 1§ miles 
of mains had been laid. 

Before the public water system was installed the water supply of 
Kewanna was obtained from privately owned dug or driven wells. 
The dug wells range from 20 to 90 feet in depth; the average depth 
of the driven wells is about 90 feet, at which depth a gravel bed is 
generally encountered. The deeper waters are cool and pure and 
form an excellent source of supply. 

Akron. — Akron is situated at the east end of the county near the 
line where the till plain to the west gives place to the more irregular 
topography of the moraine. There are still a few dug wells in use 
in this town, though driven wells, which range in depth from 40 to 
60 feet, are much more common. A bed of gravel is in most wells 
encountered between these depths, and the water from it rises within 
20 feet of the surface. There is no public water supply, as the private 
wells furnish an abundance of pure water. 

Tiosa. — Tiosa is in the north-central portion of the county, in the 
hilly area of the Maxinkuckee moraine. Driven wells are used here 
almost altogether, and gravel, bearing abundant water, is commonly 
found at about 50 feet below the surface. This is known locally as 
the " second gravel," and the water, though hard, is pure and whole- 
some. 

Fulton. — The town of Fulton lies in the south-central part of the 
county, 9 miles south of Rochester. Its water supply is drawn 
altogether from driven wells, all 30 feet or less in depth. They 
pass through a loose sandy clay into gravel at 10 to 15 feet 
below the surface, and most of them are driven but a short distance 
into this gravel. There is no sewage system in Fulton, and each 
dwelling has a dug privy vault. Much of the liquid matter from 
the outhouses and from kitchen refuse and barns sinks into the ground 
and becomes part of the underground water supply from which the 
well water is drawn. The water from these wells must, therefore, be 
dangerous for domestic use. Deeper wells would probably find gravel 
below clays, which would protect the water from pollution and yield 
a safe water supply. 

Other communities. — In the following table is a list of other com- 
munities in Fulton County, with particulars regarding their water 
supply: 



FULTON COUNTY. 

Other village supplies in Fulton County. 



115 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Head 
below 
surface. 


Character of water 
beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 




125 

142 
50 
75 

150 
20 
17 

136 
32 

145 
50 
10 

125 

105 




Feet. 
35 
25 
23 
25 
12 
60 


Feet. 
40 
35 

114 
55 
43 

100 


Feet. 
35 
33 
90 
40 
35 
75 
20 

30, 100 
50 
45 
160 
65 
36 

100 


Feet. 
10 
8 

25 
15 
15 

6" 

is" 

""o-k~ 

30 






do 


Do. 




do 


Do. 




do 


Do. 


Disko . 


Wells, driven and dug. 
Wells, driven 


Do. 








do 


10 30 


Do. 




do 


30 
40 
35 
90 
50 
12 

15 


110 
60 
60 

195 
75 
40 

170 






do 






do 






Wells, drilled.. 






Wells, driven 




Talma 


Wells, driven and 

bored. 
Wells, driven, bored. 

and dug. 


Do. 


Wagoner 


Gravel or sand. 







TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

In the two following tables are given the records of typical wells 
in Fulton County and analyses of .their waters. The numbers in the 
last column of each table refer to identical wells in the other table. 

Records of typical ivells in Fulton County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


.d 

Q 


Type. 


s 
5 


•a 
<s 

03 

O 

© 

P 


if 

>^ 

■si 

cj a; 


Water-bear- 
ing materials. 


8 

,a 

a, 
<s 
- 


s 

a 
1 

ft 
O 


6 
>> 

■3 

< 


1 


E. A. Spaugv 

J. Q. Howell 




Ft. 
13 
51 
13 

35 

150 

83 


Dug. . . 


In. 


Ft. 
13 
50 
12 
35 

"80" 
160 
5S0 
48 

47 

72" 

36 
36 

36 
160 
33 


Ft. 

-is 

- 8 
+ 4 

-30 
-20 

" + "8" 

+ 

+ 




Ft. 


Galls. 


? 


9 




Driven.. 1\ 

.do 


do 






3 


3 


Fulton. . 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Limestone . . 


iss" 


"*20' 


5 


4 | James Costello 

5 1 Public suddIv 


2 miles W. of Grass 

Creek. 
Kewanna 


...do.... 

Drilled.. 
Driven.. 
Drilled.. 
...do 


n 

10 




6 
7 
8 
9 




do. 


fi 


David Frye 

Court-house 

Public well 


Richland Center. . 
Rochester 


160 
580 

48 


7 
13 
14 


10 1 do 

11 F. C Morse 


streets, Roches- 
ter. 

Main and Fifth 
streets, Roches- 
ter. 

Rochester 


47 

89 
72 
36 
36 
36 
KiO 
33 


...do.... 

...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 

Bored... 

Driven.. 

Drilled.. 

Driven.. 


12* 

u 

"h 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

.do 




"2 

20 


12 


12 Charles Langdorf. . 

13 : Mrs. R. Henrv. . 


do 

Talma 


11 


14 
15 
16 
17 


E schuyler Tipton.. 
Samuel Kepler. . .. 


do 

do 




K. S. Bair 


ImileSE.ofTiosa. 
Tiosa 


do 

...do 








H. Kestner 


16 















116 unnEKGROiraD waters of ijobth-cextral etdiajsta. 





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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 117 

GRANT COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Grant County lies in the east-central portion of the area included 
in this report and extends 7 miles farther east than any other county. 
It is rectangular and has an area of 416 square miles. The popula- 
tion as shown by the census of 1900 was 54,693, or 131 persons to 
the square mile. This large population is due both to the excellence 
of the farming lands and to the boom which the eastern half of the 
county has experienced from the development of the natural gas 
and oil fields. 

With the exception of the Mississinewa River valley the whole of 
Grant County consists of uplands. West of this river the surface is 
a plain of very slight relief. Its character is somewhat undulating, 
but there are no pronounced prominences, and the valleys are all shal- 
low. The plain is nowhere 100 feet above the river. There are 
also plains east of the river in the southeast corner of the county 
and in the northeast corner (PL I). East of Mississinewa River, 
and roughly parallel with it, is a well-defined moraine ridge which lies 
on top of the till beds. It is nowhere more than 50 feet thick, but its 
ridgelike form and its irregular surface distinguishes it from the sur- 
rounding plains of till. 

In the uplands the form of the surface has no relation to that of 
the underlying rock. All the inequalities of the rock surface have 
been covered by a filling of glacial deposits, and the rock outcrops 
at only a few points in the bottom of the Mississinewa Valley. 

The largest and only important stream of the county is Mississinewa 
River, which crosses the county from southeast to northwest to 
join the Wabash near Peru. Its valley, though shallow, is well 
defined. At Marion the stream flows about 50 feet below the level 
of the surrounding uplands, and at the north edge of the county the 
valley is somewhat less than 75 feet deep. The ledges of limestone 
which outcrop below Marion have retarded the deepening of the 
valley above them. The Mississinewa basin is rather narrow in 
Grant County. Pipe and Wild Cat creeks drain the western part of 
the county and tributaries of Salamonie River, the northeast portion, 

There are no lakes of importance in Grant County, for although 
lakes are common in moraines in general the moraine here is of low 
relief and is so close to the Mississinewa Valley that any lakes which 
may have existed have been long since drained by the natural deepen- 
ing of their outlets. 



118 UNDERGROUND WATERS OE NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 



Much information in regard to the thickness of the surface deposits 
in the county has been obtained from the numerous borings for oil 
and gas. The rock surface, before it was covered by glacial ice, was 
crossed by streams which had cut valleys over 300 feet into the rock, 
but the glacial deposits filled these up and leveled the county over. 
The old preglacial valleys have had no influence upon the courses of 
the present streams, but in places cause a great thickening in the 
unconsolidated surface materials above them. 

The alluvial deposits of this county all occur along the bottoms 
of the larger valleys, more especially that of Mississinewa River, 
where they have a width of one-fourth to one-half mile. The thick- 
ness of the alluvium varies in different portions of the valley. Below 
Marion the valley has been lowered to the " Niagara" limestone, 
which outcrops along the stream bed, and here the alluvium, where 
present at all, forms only a thin veneer over the rock in the river 
flat. South of Marion the rock surface dips downward and the 
alluvium is thicker. The smaller stream valleys all have alluvial 
deposits varying in amount with the size and development of the 
valley. 

An abundant supply of excellent water can be procured almost 
anywhere in the alluvium, and it is generally not necessary to sink 
deep wells in order to reach the waters. In the first bottom the 
waters are found slightly above the level of the stream, but in the 
higher gravel terraces the water table is farther from the surface. 

Grant County contains a single moraine belt which lies east of 
and parallel with Mississinewa River (PI. I). It is 5 or 6 miles 
wide and continuous, though nowhere of great prominence. The 
crest of the moraine stands about 50 feet above the adjoining till 
plains. Throughout the morainal belt most of the wells are 
drilled, and extend to gravel beds at 70 to 100 feet below the 
surface. As the moraine is for the most part not more than 50 feet 
thick it is evident that the supply from these wells is from the till 
below the moraine. Locally driven wells encounter gravel at 50 
feet or less below the surface, and some dug wells in the morainal 
clay obtain small amounts of water. 

Over three-quarters of Grant County is covered by a mantle of 
till which conceals the rock and varies in thickness in different parts 
of the county up to 400 feet. This variation is due almost altogether 
to the irregularities of the underlying rock surface, for the till itself 
forms a remarkably flat, featureless upland. One of the most prom- 
inent features of the rock surface,- although there is no trace of its 
existence in the present surface topography, is a great canyon-like 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 254 PLATE VI 




A. WATER OOZING FROM BEDDING PLANES OF LIMESTONE. 




B. FLOWING WELL AT DANVILLE WATERWORKS. 



grant: county. 119 

valley, 200 to 300 feet deep, which crosses the northeast corner of 
the county. Mr. J. A. Bownocker a has traced this valley from 
Ohio River up the valley of the Little Miami to New Carlisle, Ohio, 
and thence west and northwest into Grant County. Additional well 
records show it to continue northwest beyond La Fountaine, and it 
doubtless extends still farther northwest. One well in Miami County, 
about 4 miles north of Peru, is reported to have penetrated over 
300 feet of drift without entering rock, and the suggestion is made 
that the well may be in a continuation of this same deep preglacial 
valley (PI. II) . In the Mississinewa Valley below Marion the rock 
has been exposed by stream cutting, and in the southwest corner of 
the county, north of Rigdon, it rises within 6 feet of the surface. 
Thus the thickness of the till is seen to vary within wide limits in 
different parts of the county. Plate II shows the depth to rock 
throughout the area. 

The till is in some places very clayey and lacking in beds of gravel 
and sand. When this condition prevails the supply of water is 
small and has to be obtained from dug wells, most of which yield 
only enough water for domestic purposes. Where the till is thick 
deep wells almost everywhere encounter good supplies in gravel, 
and in that part of the county where the till is thin wells are drilled 
into the rock. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The first rock formation which wells enter below the surface 
deposits is the " Niagara" limestone. This is true of all deep wells 
except a few sunk in the deep preglacial valley in the northeast part 
of the county, where the preglacial stream had cut its canyon through 
the limestone to the underlying shale. The depth to the " Niagara" 
varies greatly, as shown in Plate II. The available water in the 
"Niagara" limestone all occurs in the joints and bedding planes, 
which have in many places been dissolved out by the circulating waters 
to form continuous channels. Plate VI, A, illustrates the manner in 
which the water follows the bedding planes. In the deeper valleys 
and in those areas where this formation comes close to the surface, 
the "Niagara" has become an important source of water supply. 
Wells drilled into the limestone are sure to encounter openings from 
which water can be obtained. It is because of this abundance of 
rock water that all gas and oil wells are cased below this formation 
to keep its waters from mingling with the oil and gas from below. 
In the deeper valleys the waters in many wells flow a few feet above 
the surface, and in the higher lands they rise to about the same 
level but will not flow. 

a Special Paper No. 3, Ohio State Acad. Sci., 1900. 



120 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

Artesian area 27 (PL IV) includes all of the lowlands along the 
valley of the Mississinewa and extends somewhat up the valleys of 
its larger tributaries. Most of the flowing waters are from the 
"Niagara" limestone, but some are from gravel. By far the greater 
number of the wells were originally drilled for oil or gas. In drilling 
such wells a pipe, 8 or 10 inches in diameter, is driven down to the 
rock. When the boring reaches the bottom of the "Niagara" its 
size is commonly reduced to 6 inches, and a pipe, the casing, is put 
down to the bottom of the rock to keep the rock waters out of the 
well. If oil or gas is found, the casing is left in and the flowing 
waters emerge between the drive pipe and the casing. If the well is 
unsuccessful or becomes exhausted, the pipes are generally "pulled." 
A state law requires that all "pulled" wells be plugged at the base of 
the limestone to prevent the mingling of waters from different depths. 
When both casing and drive pipe are pulled the surface deposits cave 
in and fill the hole. Many flowing wells in this area have been de- 
stroyed in this way, as the pipes are the property of the company 
which drilled the well. In some places the owner of the land upon 
which the well is located buys the drive pipe from the company and 
keeps the well for its water supply. Most of the present flows have 
been retained in this way. 

In some localities wells supplied by water from the "Niagara" 
limestone are in " sympathy" — that is, if one well of a group is drawn 
upon heavily it may affect the head of other wells for some distance 
around. This underground connection is in many places very 
marked. A striking illustration of this phenomenon is shown in the 
"sympathy" between the flowing well at Matter Park and the wells 
of the Marion Paper Company, one-half mile southeast. For six days 
each week the wells of the paper company are pumped heavily, and 
during this time the Matter Park well ceases to flow, and the water 
is raised by a small pitcher pump (PL VII, B). On Sunday the 
paper mill is idle, and the park well yields a strong flow (PL VII, A). 

In addition to the flowing waters from the "Niagara," many good 
flows have been obtained in Marion from gravel beds in the till. The 
wells range from 40 to 150 feet in depth and the artesian waters are 
confined in gravel beds below pebbly till. The flows are small, only 
one well having been observed which flowed more than 2 gallons per 
minute. The temperature of the gravel waters is 52° F. 

Many deep borings for gas in the valley of Pipe Creek above and 
below Mier have obtained flows of artesian water from the "Niagara" 
limestone. (PL IV, No. 28.) This valley has here about the same 
elevation as the valley of the Mississinewa between Marion and Gas 
City. The head of the flowing waters comes from the higher portions 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 




WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 254- PLATE VII 


■ 






1 


m ' \ * f 


^MtWb 


—— r 


■HI 


u tI h 


' Mi' 


Li iii - 


ill w ^^* 


! 


~ Jl 


— fill,,- 


# ^ 


1* 




^Ti 




** 



^. FLOWING WELL AT MATTER PARK, NEAR MARION, IND. 




B. WELL AT MATTER PARK WHEN WELLS AT PAPER MILL, ONE-HALF MILE AWAY, ARE 

BEING PUMPED. 



GRANT COUNTY. 121 

of the limestone to the south, and the impervious till covering pre- 
vents the natural escape of the waters. Most of the flowing wells of 
Pipe Creek valley have been destroyed by the pulling of the pipes. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Marion. — The public supply of Marion is drawn from drilled wells 
of various depths. There are 17 wells, of which 14 are now in use, 
and all are said to flow when not pumped. One well was estimated 
to flow 50,000 gallons per day when it was drilled, but the head gradu- 
ally became lower as more wells were sunk. A few wells get water 
at a depth of 68 feet from a gravel bed below till, but most of the water 
is obtained from the "Niagara" limestone, which is encountered at 80 
to 150 feet below the surface. The water system is owned and oper- 
ated by the city, and the water is pumped from the wells by an air lift 
into three reservoirs of 200,000, 750,000, and 2,000,000 gallons capac- 
ity. From the reservoirs it is pumped by steam into the mains. 
About 2,500,000 gallons per day is needed to supply 75 percent of the 
population of the city. Analyses of this water are given on page 126. 

The conditions for obtaining wells in Marion are so diverse that no 
general statement can be made to cover them all. The rock is ex- 
posed in parts of the river bed, and lies at various depths elsewhere, 
up to 200 feet in the higher parts of town, the surface deposits consist- 
ing of blue till, sand, and gravel. Where the rock comes close to the 
surface most of the wells are drilled and secure their supply from 
limestone. If the surface deposits are deep, dug or driven wells are 
more common. The character of the surface deposits and the depth 
to rock in different parts of the city are given by Bowman a in a 
paper issued by this Survey. Most wells sunk into either the surface 
deposits or the rock are successful, and only a few wells out of the 
many hundreds which have been drilled into the limestone have failed 
to procure abundant water. The following is a record of a successful 
gas well in this city : b 

Log of gas well at Marion. 

Feet. 

Drift 70 

Niagara limestone 280 

Hudson River and Utica 528 

Trenton limestone 22 

900 

The ground waters in the vicinity of Marion have been consid- 
erably polluted by the salty and oily waters from oil wells. The con- 
ditions and suggestions for a remedy are set forth in Bowman's paper. 

a Bowman, Isaiah, and Sackett, R. L., The disposal of strawboard and oil-well wastes: Water-Supply 
Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 113, 1905, pp. 36-42. 
b Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 251. 



122 UNDERGROUND WATERS OE NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Gas City. — The Gas City waterworks, built in 1898, are owned by 
the city, and the water is drawn from three wells located on the Mis- 
sissinewa River flat, at the west edge of town. The deepest well is an 
old gas well, which has been plugged at a depth of 325 feet and draws 
its supply from the " Niagara" limestone. Another well also secures 
limestone water at 200 feet below the surface, while the third pene- 
trated 28 feet into the alluvial gravel. The water from all three wells 
is raised by air pressure to a reservoir, from which it is forced by steam 
pumps directly into the mains. About 500 taps are in use and 60 
per cent of the people of the city are supplied by this system. 

The sanitary condition of the water from all three wells is good, 
as they are located at some distance from the thickly settled district. 
There are only three houses within one-fourth mile of the wells. 

Many privately owned drilled and dug wells are in use in Gas City, 
and over one-third of the people rely on these wells for their water 
supply. The wells range from 35 to 300 feet in depth, and though some 
find sufficient water in the surface deposits, others go to rock, which 
lies from 150 to 180 feet below the surface. The town is situated on 
a till plain and all the well water is hard. There are no springs or 
flowing wells. 

Fairmount. — The Fairmount public waterworks were installed in 
1894 and are owned and operated by the city. The supply is drawn 
from six wells drilled into the limestone which here lies 20 to 40 feet 
below the surface, and waters under artesian pressure rise to within 
a few feet of the level of the ground. No reservoir or standpipe is 
used, and the water is pumped directly from the wells into the mains. 
About 400 taps are supplied by 4 miles of 10, 8, 6, and 4 inch mains, 
and an average of 300,000 gallons of water per day is used to supply 
65 per cent of the people of the town. The water furnished is good 
and is the best available. Analysis (No. 2, p. 127) shows it to be 
rather high in chlorine and sulphates, possibly from the salt waters 
from neighboring oil or gas borings, but these minerals do not occur 
in objectionable amounts. 

Most of the privately owned wells in Fairmount are drilled, but 
a few dug wells are still in use. The drilled wells range from 20 to 
90 feet in depth, though the greater number are about 40 feet deep. 
The best supplies of water are from rock, which is reached at depths 
of 20 to 40 feet. 

Jonesboro. — The Jonesboro public supply, owned by Trowbridge 
& Niver, is drawn from a dug well, 25 feet deep and 15 feet in diameter, 
sunk into the gravels in the valley of Back Creek. Direct pressure 
is used and an average of about 225,000 gallons of water a day is 
needed to supply 150 services. 

The well is at the base of a steep slope and is subject to surface 
pollution. At times the water is noticeably salty, doubtless from the 



GRANT COUNTY. 123 

salt waters from oil wells farther up the creek. At times, too, a 
reddish deposit collects in the mains in quantities sufficient to color 
the water. This could be remedied by frequent and thorough 
flushings of the mains. 

A much safer supply of water could here be obtained from the 
limestone by drilled wells. All danger from surface contamination 
would be avoided and the water, though harder, would be better for 
domestic purposes. An analysis of the city water is given on 
page 127. 

In Jonesboro there are many private wells which range from 15 to 
60, but are commonly 40 feet in depth. They are dug or drilled and 
are supplied by waters from the gravel beds in the till. The rock here 
lies from 130 to 160 feet below the surface and therefore is too deep 
to be readily accessible for ordinary wells. 

Upland. — In 1892 the Upland Water Works Company, a private 
corporation, installed a public supply for Upland, the water being 
drawn from a single well, drilled through 192 feet of till into lime- 
stone. There are 3,600 feet of city mains, 4, 3, and 2 inches in 
diameter, into which the water is forced by direct pressure from 
steam pumps. One hundred and forty taps supply water to about 
60 per cent of the inhabitants, and about 40,000 gallons of water 
are used per day. The city water has a slight taste of oil, doubtless 
due to the imperfect plugging of abandoned oil or gas wells in the 
vicinity. Although this oily taste is somewhat objectionable, the 
water is not known to be unhealthful. 

A number of dug or driven wells are still in use in Upland. The dug 
wells are 15 to 25 feet deep, and all fail in dry seasons, but the driven 
wells are more successful. A bed of gravel encountered at 110 feet 
supplies unfailing waters. 

Vanburen. — The public waterworks of Vanburen are owned by 
E. S. Sutton, and a single well, drilled in 1903, furnishes the supply. 
This well, 8 inches in diameter, was sunk 140 feet through surface 
deposits and 35 feet into limestone before water was struck. At 195 
feet the well was shot with 12 quarts of nitroglycerine to fracture the 
rock and increase the supply of water. The well now furnishes 
enough water for the present consumers, but is pumped to about its 
full capacity. The water is lifted by a steam pump to a standpipe 
65 feet high, whose capacity is 400 barrels, and from this it is distrib- 
uted by gravity. There are 1J miles of mains and 130 consumers, 
who use about 2,000 barrels of water a day. The water is hard and 
has a slight taste of iron, but is wholesome. An analysis of it is 
No. .23 (p. 128). 

Vanburen is situated on a gently undulating till plain. Most of 
the private wells are driven from 60 to 80 feet deep, and procure 
plenty of water in gravel. There are some dug wells, but many of 
these fail in times of drouth. 



124 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



National Military Home. — The National Military Home at Marion 
is supplied with water from 14 drilled wells, of which 12 are 87 feet 
deep and reach a water-bearing bed of gravel. Two other wells in 
limestone, of which one is 340 and the other 500 feet deep, are not 
used at present, as the gravel wells furnish sufficient water. The 
water is pumped to a standpipe 125 feet high, which holds 240,000 
gallons, and the pressure is furnished by gravity from the standpipe. 
There are 3 miles of mains and 1,900 people are supplied, the average 
amount pumped daily being 500,000 gallons. The water is good, 
though it tastes strongly of hydrogen sulphide and iron. 

Matthews. — Matthews has no public supply. Many privately 
owned drilled, driven, or dug wells are in use. The dug wells, which 
are 15 to 30 feet deep, are apt to fail in dry seasons and many have 
been abandoned. The driven wells are commonly about 60 feet deep 
and furnish good supplies of gravel water. An analysis of water 
from a gravel well in Matthews is Xo. 19 (p. 128). Most of the wells 
are drilled into the rock, which is here entered at 85 to 113 feet below 
the surface, although along the river bottoms some borings have 
reached rock within 35 feet of the surface. The rock wells yield 
abundant waters of much the same character as that from the lime- 
stone in other parts of the county. 

Swayzee. — Swayzee is supplied by a large number of private wells, 
most of which are drilled into the limestone. The limestone lies from 
18 to 41 feet below the surface, and abundant water is almost always 
found in it. The average rock well is about 100 feet deep and 2 inches 
in diameter. A few dug wells are still in use, and obtain water from 
the till above the rock, but there is always danger that the water from 
such wells will become polluted, especially in towns, and they should, 
wherever possible, be abandoned in favor of the deeper, tubular wells. 

Other communities. — A list of other villages in Grant County, with 
particulars regarding their water supply, is given in the following 
table : 

Other village supplies in Grant County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of ^ 


ells. 


Depth 
to rock. 


Head 
above (+) 
or below 
(-) sur- 
face. 


Character of water 
beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


Arcana 


50 
28 

53 
82 
100 

100 

35 
90 


Wells, drilled and dug... 
Wells, drilled 


Feet. 
20 
25 

15 
20 
10 

10 

14 
40 


Feet. 
120 
120 

200 

40 

200 

120 

100 
60 


Feet. 
90 
100 

100 
30 
15 

10 

85 
50 


Feet. 
220 

95 

170-200 
20 
400 

18 

300 
30 


Feet. 
-40 


Gravel. 
Limestone and 


Fowlerton . . 


Wells, dug and drilled . . . 
do 




gravel. 
Do. 




-10 


Limestone. 


Hanfield 


do 


Gravel, till, and 




do 


- 8 

-35 
-5to+ 3 


limestone. 
Gravel and lime- 




do 


stone. 
Gravel. 


Jalapa 


do 


Limestone and 




gravel. 



GRANT COUNTY. 

Other village supplies in Grant County — Continued. 



125 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Depth 
to rock. 


Head 
above (+) 
or below 
(-) sur- 
face. 


Character of water 
beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 




194 

219 
50 
169 

11 

30 
178 

90 

160 
50 


Wells, dug and drilled . . . 
do 


Feet. 
10 

15 

18 
20 

90 
20 
20 

10 

10 
15 


Feet. 
150 

104 
34 
125 

100 
45 
50 

50 

105 
102 


Feet. 
18 

60 

18 
60 

90 
35 
30 


Feet. 
140 

13-26 
98 
40 

185 

20 

30-40 


Feet. 


Gravel and lime- 


Mier 


-20 
-12 

-12 

-60 


stone. 
Do. 




do 


Gravel. 




do 


Clay and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel. 




Wells, drilled 


Radley 

Rigdon 

Roseburg... 

Sims 


do 


Limestone. 


Wells, dug and drilled . . . 

Wells, dug, driven, and 

drilled. 
Wells, drilled and dug . . . 
do 


-8 to -20 

- 5 

-15 
-10 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Do. 


60 
60 


35-60 
20-45 


Do. 
Till and lime- 






stone. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two following tables contain detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Grant County and analyses of their waters. The 
number in the last column in each table refers to identical wells in 
the other table. 



126 



UNDEBGEOUND WATEES OF NOBTH-CENTEAL INDIANA. 



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- Date. 


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1906 

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weiis : 


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Wells in gravel 
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in. 
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Fairmount. . 

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Jonesboro... 

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E. D. Fowler 

Public supply 


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C. P. Marks 

Public supply 

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Old public supply.. 
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Old public supply.. 

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Matter Park Well.. 
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128 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 129 

HAMILTON COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Hamilton County is in the southern part of the area under discus- 
sion, in the middle north-south tier of counties and in the second 
tier from the south edge. The county is square, measuring about 
20 miles on each side, and had in 1900 a population of 29,914, or an 
average of ?4 people to the square mile. 

The county has a total range in elevation of somewhat over 150 
feet. The lowest point is at the edge of Marion County, in the White 
River valley, and the highest portion is in the northwest corner, 
where the surface lies over 900 feet above sea level. The surface is 
for the most part a high till plain which has been more or less dis- 
sected by streams. Only two streams are large enough to have exca- 
vated well-developed valleys. (See PL I.) A low, broad belt of 
moraine runs north and south along the west edge of the county, and 
in places resembles closely in topography the surrounding till plains. 

The surface forms of the entire county are determined by the glacial 
deposits and by the streams, for the rock is everywhere so deeply cov- 
ered that its irregular surface has no influence upon the present 
topography. 

White River controls the drainage of the county, and entering it 
from the east flows west and south to cross the south county line at 
about the middle. The valley is well developed and the stream is 
bordered by alluvial bottom lands less than a mile in width. 

The most important tributary of the White is Cicero Creek, which 
flows southward to enter the White below Nobles ville. Over the 
remainder of the county there is a network of small streams tributary 
to the above two, but their valleys are shallow and small. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The search for reliable water-producing beds has led to the sinking 
of many wells throughout the county, and borings of another class, 
drilled in the attempt to discover oil and gas, have given much 
information in regard to the thickness of the surface deposits. There 
is scarcely a community in which one or two wells have not pene- 
trated to rock. The records of borings show a wide range in the 
thickness of the surface deposits, and the range is not uncommonly 
great in short distances. An attempt to show the depth to rock has 
been made in Plate II, though the results can only be considered 
approximate, as the records are incomplete. It is certain, however, 
that before the advance of the glaciers over the county the surface 
was more rugged than at present, and there were deep valleys which 
have now been filled. 

46448°— wsp 254—10 9 



130 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

The most extensive alluvial deposits of the county lie along the 
sides of White River in the bottom of the broad valley. They consist 
for the most part of flood-plain or first-bottom lands which are over- 
flowed by the stream in flood seasons. Above the flood plain there 
are occasional benches of alluvium, forming terraces below the river 
bluffs — all that remains of an earlier flood plain. The valley of 
Cicero Creek also contains less extensive beds of alluvium, as do some 
of the other still smaller valleys. The deposits increase in importance 
as the valleys attain greater size. Water is everywhere abundant in 
alluvium, and many wells are supplied from it. The looseness of 
the materials permits driven wells to be easily obtained, and the 
open gravels allow a ready circulation of the water. Where not 
exposed to pollution the waters are very desirable, and most of the 
wells are unfailing. 

The morainal part of the county, all of which lies along its west edge 
(PI. I), is of low relief and contrasts mildly with the topography of the 
till plain. The moraine waters are contained both in the clay and in 
the gravel beds. There are many dug wells which penetrate but a 
little way below the level of the water table and which fail in par- 
ticularly dry seasons. The drilled and driven wells, which on the 
moraines go through the morainal deposits into the till below, are 
much safer from contamination than the open wells and obtain a 
more reliable water supply. 

The till plains comprise more than three-fourths of the surface 
of the county, and in this area the depth to rock averages much more 
than 100 feet. In addition to its surface occurrence (PL I) the till 
underlies both the moraines and the alluvium except in the few 
places in the valleys of White River and Fall Creek where the allu- 
vium lies directly upon the rock. As a result of the wide distribution 
of the till at the surface and of its great thickness, more wells in this 
county draw their water from the till than from all other sources. 
Open or dug wells, into which the water seeps from all levels, are the 
most common type. These do not generally enter any distinct water 
bed or encounter any well-defined water channels, and the water 
seeps slowly out of the clay below the water table. Most dug wells 
have been used for many years, and few new ones have been sunk 
during the last decade. The people have now learned that it is pos- 
sible, by sinking deeper driven or drilled wells, to obtain more perma- 
nent and safer waters from the occasional gravel beds in the till, and 
the use of driven or drilled wells is constantly increasing. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The approximate distribution of the various formations as they lie 
below the surface deposits is shown in Plate III. In the east half of 
the county the "Xiagara" limestone is the first rock formation 
encountered, and although the surface of the till plain is very uniform, 



HAMILTON COUNTY. 131 

the depth to rock varies greatly from place to place. The rock 
surface was first carved by the preglacial streams, then modified by 
the erosion of the glacial ice, and finally leveled over by the glacial 
deposits. 

As determined by well borings, the " Niagara" is here of the same 
character as it is farther north. It outcrops at only a few points in 
the valley of White River above and below Strawtown and in the 
valley of Fall Creek. In the White River and Fall Creek valleys 
and in the neighborhood of Clarksville and Fishers Switch this lime- 
stone is close enough to the surface to be available for its water 
supply. Many wells draw upon the rock waters, the joints and bed- 
ding planes yielding abundant water of good quality, as it is protected 
from pollution from above by the thick mantle of drift. 

The Devonian beds that Ue immediately below the till in the west 
half of the county nowhere outcrop at the surface, but are known to 
consist largely of limestones, with the New Albany shale probably 
occurring in the extreme southwest corner. The same formations 
outcrop in Carroll County, and are described with the rocks of that 
county. At Westfield and Carmel and in the surrounding country 
many wells that extend into the Devonian limestones obtain abun- 
dant waters, which are in many places under artesian pressure, espe- 
cially in Clay Township. There is but little possibility that rock 
waters from such depths could contain harmful organic matter, and 
they have always been considered a most satisfactory supply. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

There are seven separate areas in the county in which flowing 
wells occur. These are outlined and numbered on Plate IV, and are 
described separately below. 

Clay Township, in the southwest corner of the county, has many 
fine flowing wells. (PL IV, No. 29.) The area in which they occur 
is in the lowlands bordering Williams Creek and its tributaries. In 
this neighborhood the Devonian limestones lie about 140 feet below 
the surface, and the flowing waters found in the upper part of the 
limestone or in sand or gravel immediately above it will in many 
wells rise 7 or 8 feet above the surface. All flows are found in the low- 
lands. On higher ground, the same waters occur in the rock, but the 
head is not sufficient to give flowing wells. A moraine extends along 
the west edge of the county, and the wells penetrate much gravel 
before rock is reached. The head of the flowing waters is probably 
in the higher land of this moraine, the waters passing through open 
gravel beds into the limestone, while the head of the water is main- 
tained by the impervious beds of clayey drift. 

Flowing wells occur in the creek valley, 5 miles west of Cicero. 
(PL IV, No. 30.) The artesian water, which has a temperature of 
51^° to 52° F., is from the " Niagara" limestone, which here lies 



132 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

below 150 to 170 feet of clayey till. Doubtless other flowing wells 
could be obtained along this creek bottom by drilling into the lime- 
stone. 

In Westfield the shallow flowing wells, which are located in the 
lower parts of the town (PL IV, No. 31), are all driven into gravel to 
depths of 14 to 35 feet, and the flows are weak, usually less than 
1 gallon a minute. The temperature of the water in one well was 
found to be 54° F. The waters are protected above by clay, and 
should be free from pollution. The source of the waters is probably 
in the slightly higher moraine to the west. 

In flowing-well area No. 32 (PL IV), which lies along the valley 
of Stony Creek in the east part of the county, the artesian waters 
are from the " Niagara" limestone, which is here covered by 40 feet 
of pebbly till. It was necessary to drill 7 5 feet into the rock in one 
well before large enough openings were encountered to give a good 
flow. 

A few flowing wells have been obtained along the valley of White 
River and its larger tributaries in White River Township (PL IV, 
No. 33), the strongest of which, an abandoned gas well, belongs to 
E. P. Whisman, and is 1J miles north and 1 mile east of Strawtown. 
The water is from the "Niagara" limestone, and will rise 9 feet above 
the surface. The record of this well, so far as known, is No. 14 in the 
table on page 136. Its strong pressure indicates that other wells in 
the lowlands in this section of the county should also obtain flows. 

Two miles west of Arcadia there are flowing wells in the lowlands. 
(PL IV, No. 34.) One is a driven well, 61 feet deep, and another a 
dug well, 16 feet deep, and both are supplied from gravel or sand 
beds below the till. Another well, on the farm of E. A. Hollett, 
enters gravel at 65 feet and is reported to have a strong flow qf water, 
which will rise 14 feet above the surface. The conditions of flow 
are local and can not be expected to obtain for more than a short 
distance up and down stream from the above wells. Records of two 
of these wells are Nos. 3 and 4 in the table on page 136. 

In the valley of Duck Creek, near Aroma, are two flowing wells 
(PL IV, No. 35), one of which (No. 5, p. 136) was drilled for water to 
a depth of 80 feet and is reported to have gone into the rock. The 
other is an abandoned gas well and its flow certainly comes from the 
"Niagara" limestone. 

Several flowing wells have been obtained in the lowlands west of 
Cicero. (PL IV, No. 36.) In these wells, all of which are deep 
borings drilled for oil or gas, the flows come from the "Niagara" 
limestone, which is first entered at about 90 feet below the surface, 
though the flowing waters are encountered at depths of 300 to 500 
feet. The largest flow is about 60 gallons per minute. (See No. 
15, p. 136. ^ 



HAMILTON COUNTY. 133 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

NoUesville. — The Noblesville public waterworks, owned by the 
Noblesville Water and Light Company, were first operated in 1892, 
and the water is drawn from drilled wells, of which the company 
owns 17. Of the two that penetrate limestone, one was drilled for 
gas but is now used for its water supply, while the other, 390 feet 
deep, entered rock at about 80 feet. The two rock wells will yield 
750,000 gallons per day. Of the other 15 wells, of which only 9 
are now in use, all enter gravel at 60 to 85 feet. The record of the 
materials penetrated by one of these wells is as follows : 

Log of well drilled for Noblesville Water and Light Company. 

Feet. 

Soil and clay 4| 

Dry gravel 13 

Blue clay (hard pan) 20 

Water, sand, and gravel 9 

Yellow and blue hardpan 6 

Water gravel 8 

Fine packed sand 12J 

73 
Analyses of the water from the gravel wells in 1906 and early in 
1907 showed indications of surface pollution. Steps have now been 
taken to prevent the entrance of surface drainage by cementing 
around the joints of the pipes. 

The rock wells are pumped by an air lift into a 50,000-gallon 
reservoir, and the water from this reservoir and from the gravel 
wells is pumped into the mains by direct pressure. There are 750 
taps supplied by 13 miles of mains, and more than one- third of the 
people use this supply. The average daily consumption of water 
from this source is 480,000 gallons. 

About 65 per cent of the people in Noblesville are supplied from 
privately owned wells, the greater number of which are drilled. 
The wells have considerable range in depth, determined in part by 
the depth to the rock, which is from 33 to 175 feet below the surface. 
Most wells are in gravel, though some obtain rock waters. At the 
Model mill a well was drilled through the following materials : 

Log of well at Model mill, Noblesville. 

Feet. 

Gravel 44 

Clay 18 

Sand 3 

Clay 4 

Sand 8 

Coarse water-bearing gravel. 7 

Fine water-bearing sand 7 

Clay 4 

Sand 8 

Limestone 6 

108 



134 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

A deep gas well, the Banner well, had the following section:" 

Log of Banner gas well, Noblesville. 

Feet. 

Drift 73 

Niagara limestone and shale 265 

Clinton (?) limestone 30 

Hudson River and Utica 476 

Trenton limestone 9 

853 

Sheridan. — In Sheridan the waterworks system, owned by G. H. 
Farmer, supplies about 25 services. The water is drawn from two 
driven wells, 150 and 135 feet deep, and pumped to a tank 65 feet 
high, which has a capacity of 300 barrels. From the tank it is dis- 
tributed by gravity. About 300 barrels per day are used. Both 
wells are driven to gravel beds, and the water is fairly soft. 

Most of the wells in Sheridan are driven or dug. The dug wells 
which procure water from a gravel bed at a depth of 30 feet or less 
are unsafe and should be abandoned, for they receive surface drain- 
age as well as gravel water and are likely to be polluted. The driven 
wells that enter deeper gravels are much safer. The rock here 
lies 200 feet beneath the surface, and the expense of sinking drilled 
rock wells for domestic supplies is often prohibitive. 

Cicero. — At Cicero, which lies on a flat plain, the till is 160 feet 
thick, and few wells enter rock. The private wells, of which there 
are a large number, are dug and drilled and obtain water from the 
till and from the inclosed gravel beds. The dug wells range in depth 
from 10 to 40 feet, and their water is all drawn from gravel or sand 
beds in the till. In the lowlands along the creek there are many 
good springs and some flowing wells. (See PL IV, No. 36.) 

Arcadia. — In Arcadia the wells are dug or drilled and range in 
depth from 10 to 212 feet. The surface deposits are here so thick 
that few wells reach rock, though a few enter limestone at depths of 
130 to 205 feet and yield an admirable supply for most purposes. 
The common depth for wells is about 20 feet, and the dug wells pre- 
dominate in spite of the danger from their use. The water obtained 
from sand and gravel is abundant and even the shallow wells seldom 
fail. 

Atlanta. — Atlanta has no public waterworks, and private wells are 
relied upon for the water supply. Many shallow wells of the open 
or dug type and from 10 to 30 feet in depth are used, and although 
these supply unfailing water their sanitary condition is doubtful. 
The drilled wells are deeper, and as all the surface waters are cased 
off they draw their supply only from the well bottom, from 50 to 
130 feet below ground. No rock is struck at depths less than 220 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 253. 



HAMILTON COUNTY. 



135 



to 300 feet, and there are no wells in this town supplied by rock 
waters. 

Other communities. — In the following table is a list of other villages 
in Hamilton County, with particulars of their water supply: 

Other village supplies in Hamilton County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Depth 


Head 
below 
surface. 


Character of 
water beds. 


Town. 


Least. *J* 


Com- 
mon. 


to 
rock. 




no 

60 

204 

498 

160 

154 
22 

275 

200 

193 
231 

101 
94 
89 

670 


Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug, driven, 

and drilled. 
Wells, driven and 

dug. 
Wells, dug, driven, 

and drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
...do 


Feet. 

10 

15 

20 

30 

10 

10 
15 

16 

25 

10 
20 

10 

10 

25 

20 


Feet. 
125 

140 
70 

112 
75 

142 

90 

200 

100 

125 
100 

110 

200 

112 

182 


Feet. 
50 

18 

50 

100 

30 

20 
30 

20 

25 

'15 
25 

15 

100 

75 

25 


Feet. 
102 


Feet. 


Gravel and lime- 




stone. 
Gravel. 


Boxley 


100 
18 


15 
12 
8 


Do. 




Gravel and lime- 


Clarksville 

Deming 


stone. 
Limestone. 

Gravel. 


Wells, driven, dug, 

and drilled. 
Wells, driven and 

dug. 
Wells, dug, driven, 

and drilled. 
do 






Gravel and lime- 


Eagletown 

Fishers Switch. 


200 
100 
240 


15 
12' 


stone. 
Gravel. 

Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel. 


Jolietville 


Wells, dug and 

driven. 
Wells, dug, driven, 

and drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
do 


Do. 
Do. 




280 

50 

200 


0-6 


Do. 


Strawtown 


Limestone and 


Westfield 


Wells, dug, driven, 
and drilled. 


gravel. 
Do. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two following tables contain detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Hamilton County and analyses of their w T aters. The 
last column of each table gives numbers referring to identical wells 
in the ether table : 



136 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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HAMILTON COUNTY. 



137 



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...do...... 

Oct., 1907 
Dec, 1904 

Nov., 1907 

...do 

...do 

Aug., 1907 
...do 


OS OS 

ci > 

3 O 
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do 

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and Michi- 
gan South- 
ern R. R. 

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do 

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R. B. Dole.... 
do 

Lake Erie and 
Western 
R.R. 

Chase Palmer. 

H. E. Barnard 


3 

o 


Drilled well, 

163 ft. by 4 

in. 
Drilled well, 

212 ft. by 4 

in. 
Drilled well, 

120 ft. by 4 

in. 
Well, 110 ft. by 

4 in. 

Drilled w«ll, 

86 ft. 
Open well, 17 

ft. 
Drilled well, 

169 ft. 
Drilled wells, 

60 to 85 ft. 
Drilled well, 

345 ft. 
Well, 27 ft 

Driven well, 

150 ft. by 2 

in. 
Drilled well, 

112 ft. by 3 

in. 


Location. 




< 


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: < 


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a 

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5 


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5 miles W. of 

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Noblesville 

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138 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

HANCOCK COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Hancock County occupies the extreme southeast corner of the 
area covered in this report. It is irregular in outline and has an 
area of 290 square miles. As the population in 1900 was 19,189, 
there was an average of 66 inhabitants to the square mile. 

This is essentially an upland county and is more uniformly a 
high plateau than any other portion of north-central Indiana. 
In the neighborhood of \Yilkinson the surface, though of mild relief, 
lies more than 1,000 feet above sea level; the extreme northwest 
corner has an elevation of 800 feet. This plateau is composed of 
glacial deposits. The north and northwest portions are a till plain, 
but a low moraine belt covers the south and southeast parts of the 
county, which lies on the divide between White River on the west 
and Blue River on the east. The form of the underlying rock surface 
has had no influence on the present relief of the county. Xo out- 
crops occur, and the glacial deposits range from 100 to 300 feet in 
thickness. 

Stream cutting has played a comparatively unimportant part in 
shaping the surface of this high plain. The only important valley 
is that of Big Blue River, which crosses the southeast corner of the 
county. Its valley is about 50 feet below the bordering uplands 
and contains a wide flood plain. Xext in size is Sugar Creek, which 
crosses the county from northeast to southwest, with a valley which 
varies from only a few feet in depth at the upper end to 30 or 40 
feet below Xew Palestine. The river flat has nowhere been greatly 
widened. The only other noteworthy stream is Brandywine Creek, 
which flows south through Greenfield. The creek lies from 20 to 
30 feet below the plain and its flood plain is narrow. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS 

As will be seen from an inspection of Plate I, the surface deposits 
of Hancock County are almost equally divided between plains of 
pebbly till and morainal drift. Alluvial beds of sufficient extent to 
show on a map of this scale occur only in the valley of Big Blue 
River. Plate II shows the thickness of the surface deposits through- 
out the county. As they are nowhere less than 90 feet thick, it 
follows that by far the greater number of wells procure their supply 
from the glacial drift above the rock. 

The alluvium in the valley of Big Blue River consists of flood- 
plain and terrace deposits of gravels, sands, and silts. During the 
retreat of the last great glacier from this region, the Blue River 
valley afforded one of the important channels of escape for the 



HANCOCK COUNTY. 139 

abundant waters of the melting ice, and along it there were deposited 
extensive beds of fluvio-glacial debris. The valley is much larger 
than the present stream would have developed, and the alluvial de- 
posits are more extensive than those left by the postglacial streams 
of similar size. The thickness of the valley deposits varies but 
generally falls between 20 and 40 feet. Along Sugar and Brandy- 
wine creeks the alluvial beds are more restricted in area and are 
commonly 15 to 25 feet thick. The valley # gravels carry abundant 
water obtained from the rainfall and from the seepage of the sur- 
rounding uplands. Wells are easily obtained, the simplest and most 
common type being the driven well, 10 to 30 feet in depth. These 
wells give large yields if ended in coarse gravels, and the water, though 
hard, is softer than that either from the till or the limestones. There 
are many wells in alluvium along the Blue River valley and in the 
flats of Brandywine, Sugar, and the smaller creeks. 

The southeast half of this county is moraine covered, the surface 
consisting of low, rolling hills, 20 or 30 feet high, with many scattered 
bowlders. There are no sharply defined ridges or areas of strong relief, 
and in this the moraine differs greatly from the great moraine belts 
in the northern part of the State. The surface deposits reach great 
thickness wherever the moraines lie on top of the till, and at Cleveland 
a well was drilled 240 feet deep before it entered rock. The water sup- 
plies of the moraine are much like those of the till, as the materials are 
nearly identical. Dug wells predominate, but driven and drilled wells 
are numerous. 

In the northern till-covered half of the county the surface is plain- 
like and rises gradually from the west to the east edge. The thick- 
ness of the till seems to be fairly uniform from west to east, the rock 
surface below rising at about the same slope as the till surface. The 
stream valleys are all very shallow, and the topography is remarkably 
uniform and featureless. The clayey till itself furnishes water to a 
large number of shallow dug wells, the water entering through the 
loose-curbed walls as it seeps out slowly from the clay. An increase 
in the amount of gravel in the clay increases the supply of water, 
and distinct beds of gravel almost everywhere yield rather abundant 
supplies. Deep driven or drilled wells generally reach some such 
gravel beds, and few of them enter the underlying rock. Good sani- 
tary protection is given to the deeper gravels by the overlying clays. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The " Niagara" limestone outcrops beneath the drift in northeast 
Hancock County, though it is everywhere deeply covered by the sur- 
face deposits. It has been reached by the drill at Fortville, Melners 
Corners, Wilkinson, and Willow, and its character is evidently much 
the same as in the area to the north, where it comes to the surface, 



140 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Deep drillings throughout the entire county pass through the 
"Niagara, " though in the south, central, and west portions it is over- 
lain b} T the Devonian beds. All wells entering the "Niagara" obtain 
abundant water, usually in the upper portion of the formation. 

Little is known of the character of the Devonian limestones, which 
are the uppermost rocks in the south and west portions of the county 
(PL III). The records of drillers commonly class them with the 
"Niagara." The Devonian beds are reliable water producers, no 
failure to obtain abundant water in the limestones having been re- 
corded. The water occurs in the fractured and somewhat weathered 
upper portion of the rock or in the deeper joints or bedding planes. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

One artesian area (PI. IV, No. 37) includes the lowlands along 
Brandj-wine Creek near Greenfield, where there are a number of 
flowing wells, all of which are drilled into limestone. Two are old gas 
wells, one on the property of W. S. Freeze (No. 6, p. 142) and one in 
the flat of Brandywine Creek. It is not known at what depth the 
flowing water was encountered, except that it is from the limestone, 
which is here about 150 feet below the surface. The only other flow- 
ing wells in this area, eight in number, are at the Greenfield city water- 
works. When these wells are pumped the head is lowered below the 
surface of the ground. The wells are " in sympathy " with the flowing 
well at the creek bottom, which ceases to flow when the city wells are 
being pumped. Although the water is found in the Devonian lime- 
stone, the head is probably from waters in the underlying "Niagara" 
limestone. The "Niagara" beds rise toward the east, the direction of 
the Cincinnati arch, and the flowing waters probably come down this 
structural slope. 

A number of other flowing wells from abandoned gas borings are 
reported to occur along the Brandywine south of Greenfield. 

There are two flowing wells at New Palestine, both on the property 
of Mr. Max Herrlick. The records of the wells are lost, but they are 
reported to have entered rock at 285 feet and to be 1,000 feet deep. 
The flowing water is said to have been encountered at a depth of 200 
feet. The water rises 15 feet above the surface, and is carried to a 
hydraulic ram which pumps 13,000 gallons per day. The water is 
used for the public supply. Other flowing wells could certainly be 
obtained in the near-by lowlands if carried to sufficient depth. 

One mile north of Melners Corners, in the valley of Sugar Creek, 
there is a flowing well on the farm of W. A. Collingwood. (PI. IV, 
No. 39.) The water is obtained from gravel at a depth of 20 feet, 
and the flow fills a 1^-inch pipe. The conditions for flow are local, 
but wells in the creek valley near by would also probably strike flow- 
ing waters. 



HANCOCK COUNTY. 141 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Greenfield. — The city of Greenfield owns and operates waterworks, 
which were established in 1894 at the east edge of the town. The 
water, drawn from eight flowing wells (PL IV, No. 37), is from the 
limestone and is pumped directly into the mains from the wells, a 
domestic pressure of 45 pounds being maintained, while for fire pro- 
tection the pressure is increased to about 100 pounds. There are 
over 8 miles of mains and 900 taps, and about 75 per cent of the peo- 
ple use this water. About 300,000 gallons per day are pumped. 

In Greenfield there are still large numbers of private wells in use. 
The dug wells formerly were more numerous, but they are gradually 
being abandoned and their places taken by driven wells. In the 
north and northeast parts of the town water-bearing gravels are 
found at about 45 feet below the surface, while in the south part of 
town it is necessary to sink wells to a little over 100 feet before good 
supplies are obtained. Before the city supply was installed many 
dug wells were used, and typhoid fever was prevalent. No case of 
this disease has been reported from families which use only the city 
water. 

New Palestine. — The public supply of New Palestine is owned by 
Max Herrlick. The water flows from the artesian wells already 
described (PL IV, No. 38), and a part of the flow is pumped by hydrau- 
lic ram to a tank 86 feet above the wells, which has a capacity of 
6,000 gallons. From the tank the water is distributed by gravity 
to about 2 miles of 2-inch iron mains, and 35 taps are supplied. 
There are no connections with this system for fire protection. 

The private wells are dug and driven. The dug wells range in 
depth from 14 to 24 feet, and the driven wells from 30 to 125 feet. 
The common depth for driven wells is 65 feet, and a good bed of 
water-bearing gravel can almost everywhere be found at that depth. 

Fortville.— In Fortville all the open wells have been abandoned, 
and drilled or driven wells are used altogether. In the town there 
are perhaps six or eight wells which reach rock, and they all have 
abundant water. An analysis of water from the limestone, which 
here lies at a depth of about 165 feet, is No. 3 in the table on page 143. 
The driven wells are sunk either to first or second gravel, first gravel 
being reached at 10 to 35 feet, and second gravel at 70 to 80 feet 
below the surface. Most wells obtain water of good quality from 
second gravel at an average depth of 70 feet. 

Charlottesville. — Charlottesville has no public supply, and each 
home has a private well from which its water is drawn. Dug wells 
were formerly numerous, but these are being abandoned and driven 
or drilled wells substituted. Gravel, encountered at depths of 30 to 
85 feet, furnishes safe and abundant waters, which rise within 15 
feet of the surface. In the town rock lies 170 feet below the glacial 
beds, and no rock waters are used. 



142 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OE NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in Hancock County, with details regarding their water supply : 
Other village supplies in Hancock County. 



Town. 



Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 



Source. 



Depth of wells. 



Least. 



Great- 
est. 



Com- 
mon. 



Depth 

to 
rock. 



below 
sur- 
face. 



Character of 
water beds. 



Cleveland... 

Eden 

Gem 

Maxwell 

McCordsville 
Melners Corners 

Mohawk 

Mount Comfort 
Philadelphia . . 
Shirley 

Warrington . . . 
Wilkinson 

Willow 




Wells, dug and drilled 

do 

do 

Welly, driven and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and drilled 
Wells, driven and 

drilled. 

Wells driven 

....do 

Wells, dug and driven.! 
Wells, drilled, bored, 

and dug. 
Wells, dug and driven. 
Wells, drilled, driven, 

and dug. 
Wells, dug and driven. 



Feet. 
12 
20 
20 
40 



Feet. 
240 
30 

150 
278 

132 

100 



40 

B0 

138 



30 
ISO 



Feet. 

200 

20 

130 



Feet. 
240 



276 



100 

100 



170 



ISO 



Feet. 



6 
3-10 



5-10 



Sand and gravel. 
Gravel. 

Sand and gravel. 
Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 

Sand and gravel. 
Gravel. 

Do. 
Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Sand and gravel. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

The two following tables contain detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Hancock County and analyses of their waters. 
The last column of each table gives numbers referring to identical 
wells in the other table. 

Records of typical wells in Hancock County. 



6 


Owner. Location. 


— 


Type. 


i 

s 

03 

5 


Depth to wa- 
in- 1 >ed. 

Head above 
( + ) or below 
(— ) surface. 


*4 

it 


o 

2 

o 

- 
Q 


a 
S 

r= 

o 


o 

m 
"m 
j>> 

"3 

a 

< 


1 
? 


Feet. 

C. Vannlaningham Fortville 175 

L. F. Dennev do 35J 


In. 
Drilled.. 2\ 
...do 2| 


Ft. Feet. 
.... -33 
.... -10 
.... -30 

170 + 

200 -30 
.... + 3 

171 1 -30 

105 -25 
276 

181 -55 
80 

100 -30 


Limestone . . 
Gravel 


Ft. 

165 


GaU. 


3 

1 


3 
4 
5 


E. F.Cahen." do 140 

Cit v waterworks . . Greenfield 170 

Countvjail do 200 


— do 2i 

...do 8 

...do 1 6 


do 

Limestone.. 170 
do 170 




2 
4 


6 

7 


W. S. Freeze do 

J. A. Corbin 1| miles N. of 171 

Greenfield. 

Thomas Rash Maxwell 105 

Cleveland. Cincin- do 278 

nati, Chicago and | 
St. Louis R. R. 
E.L.Dobbins 2 miles SW. of 181 

Maxwell. 

McCordsville Nat- , McCordsville 910 

ural Gas Co. 
S. Morrison j \ mile X. of Mc- 100 

Cordsville. 
W. A. Collings- I * mile X. of Mel- j 20 

wood. ners Corners. 
Frank Welling 3 miles SW. of 147 

Mount Comfort.! 

Max Herrlick > New Palestine ... 1, 000 

J.M.Evans | 3 miles S. of Oak- 90 

landon. 
Doctor Chateau Shirlev 138 


...do 6 

...do 4 

...do 4 

...do i 


do 


.... 


2 


.... 


8 

q 


do 

Limestone . . 

Gravel 


"276 






10 


...do 


4 






11 


...do 

...do 

Driven.. 

Drilled.. 

...do 

...do 

...do 

do 


3 

u 

2 

6 
2£ 

4 

11 

3 


Limestone . . 








17 


Gravel 








13 

14 

15 
16 

17 


20 

147 

700 
90 

138 
150 
180 
180 

SO 


+ 6 

-37 

+15 
-20 

-30 


do 

do 

Limestone . . 
do 




75 


.... 


18 J. Masters Warrington... 200 


—15 


do 


200 
165 
165 






19 Doctor Titus ... Wilkinson 187 do 


—201 Limestone . . 
-20 do 






20 Georee Condo ; do 180 ...do 1 3 






21 


J. W. Walker Willow 


80 Driven..] \\ 




Sand 







HENDRICKS COUNTY. 

Mineral analyses of waters in Hancock County. 
[Parts per million.] 



143 





















Material in 


No. 


Owner 




Location. 


Source. 


Analyst. 


Date. 


which water 




















occurs. 


1 


L. F. Denney 




Fortville 




Drilled well, 35 
ft. by 2\ in. 

Drilled well, 140 
ft. 

Drilled well, 175 


H.E. Barnard 


Oct. 


, 1907 


Gravel. 








2 


E. F. Cahen. 




do.. 




do 


...do 




Do. 


3 


C. Vannlaningham 


do.. 




do 


...do 




Limestone. 












ft. by 2i in. 










4 


City supply . . 




Greenfie d.. 


Drilled wells, 170 


Chase Palmer 


July 


, 1907 


Do. 










ft. by 8 in. 


















^ 






<o 


r 


<B 




G> 


<x> 
















bo 






o 




O 




O 


o 
















S 




M 


T} 


u ^ 


•D 




■a 


■a 






t 


No. 


O 




e3 
O 


a 



03 


I 


Bo 


o>0 


*£ 


c 


o 


6 




2 


$g 




CQ 

03 


S3 
o 


a 

3 


§3 

a 

1? 


a 


o3 
O 


go 


■ea 


03 -^ 
ft 

S3 


a 

'£ 
o 

s 


.2 5. 

03 




o 


o 
m 

o 


6 




CQ 


'- 1 


O 


a 


CQ 


PU 


O 


pq 


CQ 


o 


fc 


s 


O 


fr> 


£ 


1 




0.60 


100 


21 






0.0 


172 


65 


1.0 


0.00 


0.0 


15 


280 


2 


2 




.80 


74 


21 






.0 


324 


26 


2.0 


.30 


.0 





370 


3 


3 




1.2 


73 


24 






.0 


266 


23 


2.0 


.20 


.002 


2 


348 


1 


4 


28 


1.2 


48 


30 


2 


3 


.0 


344 


6.2 


7.0 


1.5 






326 


4 










1 















HENDRICKS COUNTY. 



SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Hendricks County, which lies at the southwest corner of the area 
covered by this report, is about 19 miles wide and 20 miles long from 
north to south, though there is a projection which extends 2 miles 
farther south than the rest of the county. The total area is 408 
square miles, and in 1900 the population was 21,292. Danville, the 
county seat, lies 20 miles west of Indianapolis. 

This county occupies a part of the broad plateau between White 
and Wabash rivers, and most of the drainage belongs to the former 
stream. The plateau slopes as an inclined plane from the northwest 
to the southeast corner of the county, and this slope is due more to 
the preglacial surface as left by the ice than to the influence of post- 
glacial erosion. The largest valley is that of White Lick Creek, and 
the lowest point of the county, in this valley, is less than 700 feet above 
sea level, while the highest, in the northwest portion (PI. I), reaches 
a height of over 960 feet, giving the county a total range in elevation 
of about 275 feet. Most of the surface consists of a level plain, and 
is, in general, little cut by streams. There is, however, a broad belt 
of moraine which has a north-south trend and lies somewhat west of 
the center of the county (PL I). 

White Lick Creek is the dominating stream, and with Little White 
Lick and its other smaller tributaries its basin includes almost half of 



144 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

the surface. The valley is much deeper than is common for streams 
of this volume, the excessive development being due to the fact that 
it discharges into the deep valley of White River, and therefore has 
the low outlet and steep gradient that are favorable to rapid erosion. 
The only other streams of importance are Walnut Creek, in the north- 
west corner, and Mill Creek, in the southwest corner, both of which 
flow, by way of Eel River, into White River at Worthington. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The principal alluvial beds of the county are found in the valleys of 
Big and Little White Lick creeks, and to a lesser extent in the valleys 
of the other streams. Wherever the alluvium attains a thickness of 
15 feet or more it is almost certain to furnish plenty of water to dug 
or driven wells. From the nature of the materials, however, such 
shallow wells will receive in a short time any sewage which may enter 
the ground in the vicinity, so that pollution must always be guarded 
against. The danger is especially great in towns or in the neighbor- 
hood of dwellings or barns ; hence water for domestic purposes should 
not be taken from shallow wells so situated. The deeper alluvium, 
if covered by beds of rather impervious clay, may yield a first-class 
water supply. 

As stated above, a single moraine belt crosses the county from 
northwest to southeast (PL I). North of Danville the surface is 
rather irregular and rolling, but south of this city the relief becomes 
milder. 

As in the till plains, the open wells predominate. The greater 
abundance of gravels has favored the construction of driven or drilled 
wells, and these are constantly increasing in popular favor. The 
depth varies with the distance to the gravel beds, but it is rarely 
necessary to sink wells more than 60 or 70 feet. 

As shown in Plate I, till plains occupy most of the county surface. 
The thickness of the material varies greatly, for in the southwest 
corner the drift is generally less than 75 feet thick, but the depth to 
rock increases to the north and east until it reaches more than 200 feet 
in the deepest places. The majority of the wells in the till-plain areas 
are open or dug and range from 15 to 40 feet deep. The water enters 
slowly from the till, but in sufficient quantity for ordinary domestic 
uses. Wells of this type may be obtained almost anywhere, and in 
the rural districts offer a fairly safe supply if located at safe distances 
from outhouse and barnyard drainage. In towns they are not safe. 
Drilled and driven wells have proved very satisfactory, and have 
'demonstrated that gravel beds may be entered anywhere if the wells 
are continued 75 feet or more. Locally they are found much nearer 
the surface. 



HENDRICKS COUNTY. 145 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The distribution of the rock formations below the glacial drift, is 
shown approximately in Plate III. The exact line of contact between 
the Devonian and Mississippian beds in this county can not be deter- 
mined, because very few wells have penetrated through the drift to 
them. 

The New Albany shale, the uppermost of the Devonian beds, is the 
oldest rock of the county. Little is known here of the character of its 
water supply, although in the counties to the east and north it is 
made up of tight, close-grained beds, which yield little or no water to 
wells. In Hendricks County the drift above has everywhere yielded 
sufficient water before the shale is reached. 

The "Knobstone" group, of Mississippian age, lies immediately 
below the drift in all but the northeast portion of this county (PL 
III) . These rocks furnish few wells with water in the lower and more 
shaly portion of the formation. In the southwest half the sandstone 
of the " Knobs tone" comes within 6 or 8 feet of the surface at some 
places, and wells drilled into it have found plenty of water in the well- 
defined joints of the rock. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

A flowing-well area lies in the valley of Little White Lick Creek for 
some distance above and below Danville. (PL IV, No. 40.) The best 
flows have been obtained by the Danville waterworks, where six wells 
furnish the entire town supply (PL VI, B). The water is obtained 
from a gravel bed below till at a depth of 100 to 112 feet, and rises 12 
to 22 feet above the surface with an enormous volume. The record 
of one of these wells is as follows: 

Log of well at Danville waterworks. 

Feet. 

Sand and gravel .* 14 

Hardpan 5 

Blue clay 53 

Gravel ^ 40 

112 

The gravel beds which yield the flowing waters are of uncertain 
extent. One well drilled by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and 
St. Louis Railway, one-fourth mile southeast of the Danville pumping 
station, penetrated hardpan and found no water in or below it. Flow- 
ing wells from the drift have also been obtained near Cartersburg in 
this same artesian area. The Cartersburg Mineral Springs have been 
described by W. S. Blatchley. a 

a Mineral waters of Indiana: Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Res., 1901. 
46448°— wsp 254—10 10 



146 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

There is an artesian area in the vicinity of Tilden (PI. IV, Xo. 41) 
where two wells flow at the surface, and where in many wells the water 
rises within a few feet of the well month. The waters are in every 
well obtained from gravel beds below till, and the wells range from 26 
to 114 feet in depth. The record of one of these is Xo. 14, in the 
table on page 14 S. 

In artesian area Xo. 42 (PL IV), near Xew Winchester, a number 
of flowing wells occur, but by no means all the wells flow. Xone of 
the wells are in deep valleys, and many are only 2 or 3 feet below the 
level of the plain. The water is obtained from the sandstone of the 
'"'Knobstone" group, which is entered at 30 to 90 feet below the sur- 
face, the overlying till preventing the escape of the waters, and the 
head may come from the higher part of the formation, a few miles to 
the north, or from the overlying drift. As no outcrops occur at the 
surface, the water must reach the rock through gravelly portions of 
the drift. 

An artesian area (PL IV. Xo. 43) at North Salem has a single flowing 
well, drilled about fifteen years ago in the hope of obtaining oil or gas. 
The well is 800 feet deep, and the flow is reported to come from a 
depth f 400 feet, probably from the Devonian limestones. The well 
flows with a 1^-inch stream. 

CITY AXD VILLA GE SUPPLIES. 

Dai ■■ illt. — The Danville public water system is owned by the city, 
and the supply is obtained from six drilled wells in the river valley. 
There are two 2-inch, two 3-inch, and two 4-inch wells, and each is 
about 112 feet deep. They have been described above, as in artesian 
area 40. From the wells, which have a head of 22 feet above ground, 
the water is pumped to a standpipe with an elevation of 100 feet above 
the town and 200 feet above the wells, and is distributed from this by 
gravity. The system has 5 miles of mains and 600 consumers, or 
about 95 per cent of the total population of the town. About 450.000 
gallons per day are pumped. An analysis of this water is Xo. 4 in the 
table on page 149. The supply is an excellent one. and it is appre- 
ciated by the people, as is shown by the large proportion of users of 
the city water. 

There are very few private wells in Danville. A small number of 
dug and driven wells are used and some water is obtained from 
springs along the creek valley. 

Plainfidd. — Plainfield has no waterworks, and all the water is 
drawn from private wells. These are dug and driven, are 20 to 25 
feet deep, and obtain their water from a bed of gravel. Such a supply 
is likely to become polluted at any time from the drainage of the 
outhouses and stables of the town. Deep driven and drilled wells 



HENDKICKS COUNTY. 147 

are the only safe source of underground waters in such thickly 
settled communities. 

At the Indiana Boys' School, across the creek from the town, the 
water is obtained from two sources. A fine spring which issues from 
the side of a gravel terrace supplies the drinking water and a deep 
well the water used for other purposes. The record of this well was 
given as follows: 

Log of tv ell at Indiana Boys' School, Plainjield. 

Feet. 

Soil and brown sandstone 12 

Bluestone 58 

Bluestone 160 

Red shale 18 

Brown limestone. 52 

Limestone 300 

White stone 3 \ 

603| 

Pittsboro. — Pittsboro is situated on the till plain about 8 miles 
northeast of Danville, and has no public water supply. The private 
wells, whose waters are obtained from gravel beds, are dug and 
driven, and although they range in depth between 15 and 100 feet as 
extremes, the common depth is only 20 feet. Such a shallow well 
supply should be abandoned in favor of deeper tubular wells. 

Brownsburg. — The wells of Brownsburg are dug and driven, the 
former ranging from 15 to 30 feet, and the latter from 30 to 150 feet 
in depth. The common depth for dug wells is 20 feet and for driven 
wells 40 feet, and the water, which comes from the till and from 
gravel beds, rises within 10 or 15 feet of the surface. The driven wells 
40 feet or more in depth are probably safe from pollution. The dug 
wells are open to the same objections stated for wells of this class at 
Plainfield and Pittsboro, and their waters endanger the health of 
the community. 

Coatsville. — The people of Coatsville depend for their water almost 
wholly upon dug wells from 18 to 30 feet deep, in which the head of 
water varies with the seasons. Gravel is entered at about 25 feet. 
Great care should be exercised to locate wells as far as possible from 
sources of contamination, and driven or drilled wells are much to 
be preferred. 

North Salem. — The wells of North Salem are dug and driven, and 
from 15 to 75 feet deep. There is one very deep flowing well, which 
was described as in artesian area 43 (p. 146). The town is on a till 
plain, and the only reliable source of supply is the gravel beds in the 
till. The deep driven wells yield a much safer and more satisfactory 
water than that obtained from the dug wells, which are likely to be 
contaminated. 



148 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in Hendricks County, with particulars as to their water 

supply: 

Other village supplies in Hendricks County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 
below 
surface. 


Character of 
water beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


1 

Great- Com- 

est. mon. 


Amo 


325 

268 

253 

92 

478 

110 
68 


Wells, dug and 

driven. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, driven and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug, driven 

and drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
do 


Feet. 
12 

10 

40 

18 

9 

14 
14 
10 
15 

10 

7 

10 
20 

12 
15 
12 
9 

15 


Feet. 
30 

150 

110 

70 

140 

175 
140 
100 

50 

150 

30 
45 
80 

30 

30 

30 

245 

150 


Feet. 
20 

40 

65 

30 

50 

70 
30 
20 


Feet. 


Feet. 




Belleville 






Do. 


Cartersburg 

Center Valley 

Clayton 


15 
9-60 


20 

10 

0-10 


Do. 
Gravel and rock. 






Hadlev 


do 





Do. 




100 


do 


20 16 


Sand and gravel. 
Gravel. 


Joppa 


40 
347 
32 


Wells, dug, drilled, 

and driven. 
Wells, dug and 

driven. 
Wells, dug 


Lizton 


11-50 

10 
30 
25 

14 
20 
20 
20 

20 




2-8 
1-5 


Sand and gravel. 




Gravel. 


Mount Clair. 


do 




New Winchester. 
Pecksburg 


116 

72 

50 

73 

357 

63 


Wells, dug and 

drilled. 


20-50 




Gravel and rock. 


do 






Do. 




do 






Gravel and clay. 
Gravel and sand- 
stone. 
Gravel. 


Stilesville 

Tilden 


Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

driven. 




4-16 
15 









TYPICAL WELLS AXD ANALYSES. 

The following tables contain detailed information regarding typical 
wells of Hendricks County and analyses of their waters. The last 
column in either table gives numbers referring to identical wells in 
the other table. 

Records of typical wells in Hendricks County. 



No. 



Owner. 



Location. 



Type. 



<D O O 



+7 
I* 

2 o -" 

m 



Water- 
bearing 
materials. 







M. T. Hunter 


Brownsburg 

do 


W. W. Quinn 

John Tarleton 


Cartersburg 

do 


Vandalia R. R 


J mile W. of Clayton 


Public supply 

Charles McLain 

Public well 

J. N. Lockhart 

Public well 


Danville 


2 miles N. of Hadlev 

Jamestown 

North Salem 

Pittsboro 


M. H. Arbuckle... 
Nathan Underwood 
Frank Stinson 


| mile NE. of Tilden 
S.of New Winch ester 
2 miles E. of Win- 
chester. 



Drilled. 
Driven. 
Dug.... 
Drilled. 
...do.... 



7ns. 



Ft. Feet. 



-20 
-18 
-40 



Ft. 

Shale 60 

Gravel ' 

do 

do 

do 



Galls. 



..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
Dug.... 
Drilled. 
..do.... 
...do.... 



6 

6 

6 

2,3.4 



+ 
— 2 

+22 

+ 



Shale 

Sandstone. 

do 

Gravel 

Sandstone. 
Limestone. 
do 



Gravel 

do 

Sandstone. 
.....do 



200 



HENDRICKS COUNTY. 



149 



•sipAV jo pjooaj ui -on 


CO CN O O-H <M CO j 


•spnos i^jox 


CO «o 00 O 00 "f ■* 
OO O T ^ o ^ 
O t t C0»O -v CN 


•jojoo 


TP . CN • -'CP T 1 O 


•( z on) 

a \ o i p b i a}U}IN 


^H • O • »-H i-< t-1 
O ■ O • O O O 

o ■ o -o o o 


•( 8 0N) 
a \ o i p B j o^BJ^tN 


5.0 

.7 

.000 

9.0 
.20 

.05 

12.0 


•(ID) snuomo 


CN 

MS O CO00 "*< <M 
HOI M CO CN h- 


•(*09) " ' 
aioipBJ o^qding | j* « t- 


^ KjOa.) co -cp CO sot- CO -H 

apipBJ a-jBaoqaBOig I '" M raco * . "* 


•( 8 oo) 1 °.ii °. °° ® ® 
ajoipBJ e^BiioqiBO 1 °H 


•(3) uinTSSBjoa | ;^ ; m ; ■ • 


1 .CO . lO ■ 

•(bn) mmpog | : : : ; ; 


1 con io co oo r- oo 

■(3ft) uinison§BH "° <N M ^^ N *° 


| »0 CN O CN CO OJ CO 

•(bq) tunpiBo 2* 3 ^^ "° 2 


•(lV) uinmuiniv 1 : ; : ; ; : ; 


| o o o o 
•(3,1) UOJJ 1 ~°°. © ^*« •*. ^ 

1 O-H CN CN 


■( 8 o!s)*oh!S 1 : s : * : : : 


Material 

in which 

water 

occurs. 


Gravel 

do 

Shale 

Gravel 

Limestone . 

do 

Gravel 


Date. 


1907 

Nov., 1907. 

Sept/1907. 

July, 1907 . 
1907 

1907 

1907 


09 


H. E. Barnard 
Chase Palmer. 

H. E. Barnard 

Chase Palmer. 
H. E. Barnard 

do 

do 


a5 
o 

l-c 

a 

o 

GO 


Open well, 22 ft 

Driven well, 110 ft. 

by I* in. 
Drilled well, 56 ft. 

by 6 in. 
Drilled wells, 112 ft.. 
Drilled well, 96 ft. 

by 1^ in. 
Drilled well, 800 ft. 

by 8 in. a 
Open well, 15 ft 


C 


Brownsburg . . 
do 

Clayton 

Danville 

Jamestown 

North Salem. . 

Pittsboro 


S3 

o 


Public well 

M. T. Hunter 

Vanarsdell Bros... 

City supply 

Public well 

J. N. Lockhart 

Public well 


6 


i-i CN co "C"io co r- 



150 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

HOWARD COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Howard County is in the central north-south tier of the group of 
counties included in this report, somewhat south of its geographic 
center, and has an area of 295 square miles. Kokomo, the county 
seat, is 50 miles due north of Indianapolis. The population of the 
county in 1900 was 28,575. 

The county is a part of the high plain between the valleys of White 
and Wabash rivers, and aside from the valley depression of Wild Cat 
Creek the surface is monotonously level and featureless. Wild Cat 
Creek enters the county from the south near the southeast corner and 
flows northeast and then northwest to Greentown, whence its course 
is westward through Kokomo to the west county line. The course 
of the stream in this county is over 40 miles long and the valley is 
much better developed at the lower than at the upper end. At Bur- 
lington, Carroll County, the valley is about 70 feet deep. At Green- 
town it is less than 30 feet deep, and above it is still shallower. Wild 
Cat Creek drains all of the south half of the county, and a narrow 
strip of the plain to the north. From the south it is fed by Honey, 
Little Wild Cat, and Kokomo creeks. From the north it has no 
important tributaries. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The important alluvial deposits of Howard County are all confined 
to the valley bottom of Wild Cat Creek, though there are small areas 
of alluvium along the courses of its larger tributaries. The valley 
ranges in width from over one-half mile in the west to a small fraction 
of this distance at its upper end, and the alluvium varies much in 
thickness. At Kokomo wells in the bottom lands enter rock after 
penetrating 20 to 30 feet of gravels and sands. Farther west the 
thickness increases. In the alluvial bottom lands underground 
waters are easily obtained. The water table in these areas stands 
within a few feet of the surface, and the coarse sand and gravel beds 
furnish large quantities of water. Driven wells, 10 to 30 feet in 
depth, are commonly used to procure the alluvial waters. The waters 
are potable and safe in rural districts where the wells are sufficiently 
removed from outhouses or stables, but in towns the chances are great 
for pollution by the penetration of sewage into the unprotected 
gravels, and in such situations the shallower alluvial waters should 
be avoided. 

The moraines of this county are low and inconspicuous, though 
their somewhat irregular surfaces stand in contrast with the very 



HOWARD COUNTY. 151 

level aspect of the surrounding till plains. One belt of morainal drift 
extends from Green town northwest into Miami and Cass counties, 
and Russiaville lies on another small isolated patch. 

In the gravelly portions of the morainal drift the ground waters are 
abundant and may be obtained by dug, driven, or drilled. wells. The 
gravel or sand beds between beds of till furnish the best waters, and 
the relatively impervious till is effective in keeping out objectionable 
drainage from the surface. 

From its wide surface distribution (PL I) the till must be depended 
upon to furnish the domestic supplies of water throughout most of 
the county, and the usual method of obtaining water from it is by 
means of loosely curbed dug wells. The water thus obtained may, 
under exceptional conditions, be unfailing and pure; but many such 
wells fail in dry seasons and all are to some extent subject to the dan- 
gers of pollution either from the well mouth or from seepage through 
the ground. If dug wells are to be used, great caution should be exer- 
cised to locate them at as great a distance as possible from cesspools 
or other sources of contamination. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The surface deposits of all of Howard County are immediately 
underlain by limestones. In the eastern portion the " Niagara" lime- 
stone is the uppermost formation. At Kokomo, where the rocks out- 
crop at the surface, the beds are of the Kokomo limestone ("water 
lime"), next younger than the Niagara. At Russiaville and in the 
extreme southwest portion of the county the Devonian limestones 
underlie the drift. The approximate distribution of these formations 
is shown in Plate III. The various limestone formations have gained 
the reputation among drillers of being sure water-bearing beds. A 
great many borings throughout the county have entered limestone, 
and almost without exception the wells have obtained satisfactory 
supplies of water. 

Chemical analyses (p. 157) seem to show no great difference in com- 
position between the waters from the limestone and those from gravel. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

Scattered throughout the county there are eight areas in which 
flowing wells occur. These are all in the lowlands, usually along the 
valleys of the larger streams. The outlines of the areas, as shown in 
Plate IV, are made to include the districts where flows are at present 
known. The boundaries are necessarily only approximate. The lack 
of an accurate topographic base map is one of the causes that have 
made it difficult, in the short time spent in each portion of the county, 
to map the flowing-well areas in detail and accurately. 



152 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF XORTH-CEXTRAL INDIANA. 

There is an area along the lowlands of Wild Cat and Kokomo creeks, 
near Kokomo (PL TV, Xo. 44), in which the limestone waters are under 
artesian pressure. The head of the waters is only a few feet above 
the level of the creeks, but at favorable spots flowing waters have been 
obtained. The best known of these areas is at the city park. The 
rock here lies only 18 feet below the surface, though the flowing wells, 
three in number, range from 49 to 106 feet in depth. The record of 
the strongest of the wells is Xo. 9 in the table on page 156. The wells 
at the city waterworks, farther upstream, are also reported to flow 
when not pumped. As they are all in use it was impossible to obtain 
the amount of flow or the head. On the property of Thomas J. Dye, 
2 J miles south of Kokomo, gas borings have encountered flowing 
waters in the limestone at a depth of about 150 feet, one well in the 
lowlands of Kokomo Creek being estimated to flow 15 gallons per 
minute (Xo. 17, p. 156). There is reason to- believe that other wells 
near the level of the creeks would give artesian flows. 

Rock wells along Little Wild Cat Creek, near West Middleton, have 
obtained flowing waters from the limestone. (PL IV, Xo. 45.) The 
waters along this valley are under just enough pressure to rise to the 
surface, and the flows are small. 'Farther from the stream the waters 
in rock wells rise somewhat above the level of the creek but do not 
flow. 

The west edge of Russiaville borders on West Honey Creek, in the 
valley of which there are flowing wells. (PL IV, Xo. 46.) Artesian 
waters are found in both the first and second gravels but none in rock. 
The deepest of these wells penetrated 35 feet of white sand and 62 
feet of blue till to gravel at 97 feet and was cased only through the 
sand to the till. 

A well one-half mile west of Fairfield (PL IV, Xo. 47) is reported 
to have obtained a flow of 5,000 barrels per day from the limestone 
at a depth of 110 feet. The water rises 6 feet above the surface, which 
at this point is 25 feet lower than at the Fairfield railroad station. 

About 1 mile west of Fairfield a small branch of Little Wild Cat 
Creek has a shallow valley in which there are two flowing wells (PL 
IV, Xo. 48), both of which are abandoned gas wells, the waters com- 
ing from the limestone. It is highly probable that rock wells in the 
valley bottom between this area and the flowing wells near West 
Middleton would also obtain flows. 

In the valleys of Wildcat and Prairie creeks above Greentown there 
are at least three flowing wells, the flowing waters coming from the 
" Niagara" limestone, which here lies 50 to 75 feet below the surface. 
One well has a temperature of 51° F. and flows about 20 gallons per 
minute. There is reason to believe that wells which penetrate deep 



oLeverett, Frank, Wells of northern Indiana: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey Xo. 21, 



HOWARD COUNTY. 153 

into the limestone are likely to obtain flows anywhere in this county 
along the valley of Wild Cat Creek. 

Area 13 (PL IV), which lies along a branch of Deer Creek, and 
which has been described in part as in Cass County (p. 90), contains 
three flowing wells in Howard County. One was drilled for gas and 
the other two for water. The gas well and the deeper of the water 
wells obtained the artesian flows from limestone. The shallower 
well secured a flow in gravel at a depth of 65 feet. The records of 
these wells are Xos. 14, 15, and 16 in the table on page 156. 

Area 10, described in part on page 81, extends across the county 
line from Carroll into Howard County, where it contains one flowing 
well. This well (Xo. 1, p. 156) is about 35 feet above the level of 
Wild Cat Creek. The water is obtained within 6 inches below the top 
of the limestone, which was struck at a depth of 103^ feet. The 
materials passed through by this boring were as follows: 

Log of well on farm of Richard Fisher, lh miles east of Burlington. 

Feet. 

Gravel 9 

Blue clay 30 

Hardpan 50 

Red clay '. 14$ 

Limestone h 



104 
CITY AXD VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Kokomo. — The Kokomo public waterworks are owned and oper- 
ated by the American Water Works and Guarantee Company of 
Pittsburg, Pa., and the pumping station is situated at the east edge 
of the city near Wild Cat Creek. The water is drawn from 13 drilled 
wells scattered for over a mile along the creek bottom lands, and all 
enter the limestone, which here lies 15 to 30 feet below the surface. 
Some of the wells, which are 6, 8, and 10 inches in diameter, and 
range from 160 to 500 feet in depth, are said to flow at the surface 
when not pumped. At present they are all connected, and are 
drained by syphon into a large cistern at the pumping station. The 
water is pumped from this well to the mains, and direct pressure 
from the pumps is maintained. There are 30 miles of mains, 4 to 12 
inches in diameter, and 2,500 taps. About 75 per cent of the people 
use this water, and require an average of 2,000,000 gallons per day. 

When the pressure in the mains is increased for fire protection, a 
red sediment which accumulates in the mains is loosened and gives 
the water an objectionable reddish color. Proper flushing of the 
mains would do much to remedy this evil. The supply is otherwise 
very good and the danger of pollution is slight. 



154 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Many private wells are still in use in Kokomo, and these usually 
obtain water in gravel just above the limestone, or in the limestone 
itself. The surface deposits vary in depth from 40 to 50 feet at the 
north edge of the city to only a few feet near the river. The most 
common type of well is the drilled well, which is sunk to a depth of 
about 75 feet and finds water in the limestone. The record of an old 
gas boring gives the following section : a 

Log of gas boring at Kokomo. 

Feet. 

Drift 61 

Waterlinie and Niagara 359 

Hudson River limestone and shale 265 

Utica shale 251 

Trenton limestone 22 

958 

Greentown. — The public supply of Greentown is owned by Delon 
& Davis, a private company. The water is taken from a single 
4-inch drilled well, 95 feet deep, which penetrated 17 feet into 
limestone. The water rises within about 25 feet of the surface, and 
the head varies only 3 feet from tins level in the driest seasons. A 
gasoline engine is used to pump the water to a tank 65 feet high, 
which holds 10,000 gallons and from which it is distributed by 
gravity. There is about 1 mile of mains, and 95 taps supply one- 
fourth of the population. The amount pumped varies from 5,000 
gallons a day in winter to 20,000 a day in the dry seasons. The 
water is good and affords a very satisfactory supply. 

The private wells in this town are dug, driven, or drilled and are 
from 20 to 150 feet in depth. Gravel beds are encountered at about 
25, 45, and 95 feet, and these waters are much used. The overlying 
till beds afford to the deeper gravels a good protection from contam- 
ination, and the limestone waters are especially safe and abundant. 
The shallow dug wells are much more dangerous and should be 
abandoned. 

Russiaville. — The water wells of Russiaville are mostly drilled or 
driven, but a few dug wells are still used. Most of the wells are 
shallow and obtain water in sand or gravel beds at depths of 15 to 
40 feet. In parts of the town the surface deposits are very sandy, 
and water is difficult to obtain. 

Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages, with particulars as to their water supply: 

a Sixteenth Arm. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 249. 



HOWARD COUNTY. 

Village supplies in Howard County. 



155 



Town. 



Cassville. 



Center.. 
Fairfield . 



Hemlock. 
Jerome. . . 



Kappa 

New London.. 
Phlox 



Plevna 

Ridgeway 

Sycamore 

Vermont ' 

West Liberty. 

West Middle- 
ton. 



Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 



279 



104 



24 

177 

51 

57 

18 

271 



(50 
202 



Source. 



Wells, dug and drilled... 



Wells, drilled, driven, 

and dug. 
Wells, dug and drilled... 



.do. 



Wells, dug, driven, and 
drilled. 

Wells, drilled and dug... 

Wells, dug and driven... 
Wells, drilled and dug... 



Depth of wells. 



Least. 



Feet. 
10 



Great- ! Com- 
est. mon. 



Feet. 
110 



135 
110 



115 
125 



1.50 



40 



120 
150 
125 
142 
85 

108 



Feet. 
25 



20 



115 
30 



100 
100 
100 
30 
60 

20 



Depth 
to rock, 



Feet. 
100 



60 70-100 
100 60 



85 
70-100 



90 



Head 
below 
surface, 



Character of 
water beds. 



60 

65 

80 

60 

142 

50-80 

100 



Feet. 



20 



Gravel, sand, 
and lime- 
stone. 
Limestone and 

gravel. 
Gravel and 
limestone. 
Do. 
Clay, gravel, 
and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel and 

limestone. 
Gravel. 

Gravel and 
limestone. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Sand and 

limestone. 

Gravel and 

limestone. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



In the following tables are given detailed information as to typical 
wells in Howard County, and analyses of their waters. In the last 
column of each table the numbers refer to identical wells in the 
other table. 



156 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 






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158 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Kosciusko Count}^ lies in the eastern tier of counties in the area 
covered by this report and in the second tier from the north edge of 
the State. It is the largest county in this region, having an area of 
521 square miles. The 1900 census showed a population of 29,109, 
or an average of about 56 persons to the square mile. 

The surface of this county is high, and the drainage is divided 
between the tributaries of Tippecanoe, Eel, Elkhart, and Yellow 
rivers, although within the county none of these streams is large. 
The moraines of the south and east parts are prominent and give 
considerable relief to the surface, but the northwest quarter of the 
county is flat and poorly drained. 

The surface deposits are of extraordinary thickness, so that little 
is known about the shape of the rock surface. The present topog- 
raphy is entirely due to the form of the glacial deposits and to the 
subsequent slight erosion of their surface. Only one boring in the 
county has penetrated to rock, which lies at a depth of 245 feet at 
Warsaw. In Noble County, to the east, depths of 375 and 485 feet 
have been reached before rock was encountered. 

Tippecanoe River receives most of the drainage from the county, 
including the overflow from a large number of lakes. All its tribu- 
taries are small, and the Tippecanoe itself is not a large stream in 
this region of its headwaters. Eel River crosses the southeast corner; 
but its valley here is not large and its tributaries all of which are un- 
important, reach back into only the southern tier of townships. 

Turkey Creek, a branch of Elkhart River, heads south into the area 
near Wawasee Lake and drains most of Van Buren and Turkey Creek 
townships. Scott and Jefferson townships had naturally very poor 
drainage, and much of the land was formerly useless for cultivation 
on account of its marshy character. Artificial drainage ditches have 
now been constructed to Yellow River, and much of the land has been 
reclaimed. 

Kosciusko County has an exceptionally large number of lakes and 
ponds — more than any other county in this region. These range in 
size from Wawasee, or Turkey Lake, which has an area of about 6 
square miles and is the largest lake in the State, to small ponds only 
a fraction of a square mile in area. All the lakes occupy depressions 
in the morainic material, and many of them have been partly filled 
by silt and by vegetable growths and are marshy. 



KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 159 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

There are no important areas of valley alluvium in the county. 
Narrow flood plains occur along Tippecanoe and Eel rivers, and 
occasionally small benches of alluvium are found locally in the 
smaller valleys; but the} 7 " are nowhere of sufficient extent to be 
important sources of water supply. 

The outwash plain northwest of Warsaw has considerable gravel 
and sand mixed with clayey materials and is alluvial in its nature. 
At Leesburg and at Menoquet the outwash deposits are thick enough 
to furnish important water supplies to driven wells of shallow depth. 
Farther northwest the outwash becomes thinner and most wells pass 
through it into the underlying till for their water. 

A great morainic belt covers much of this county (PL I), with its 
surface diversified by rolling hills and hummocks and many of the 
intervening depressions occupied by lakes. The morainic belt is 
broad, and although it forms a sharp ridge in few places it reaches 
heights of about 100 feet above the bordering plains. Water for 
wells of moderate depth is particularly abundant in the moraines. 
Most of the wells are driven and find plenty of water at 30 feet or less, 
but in the more clayey portions wells of greater depth are locally 
necessary. In the lowlands, near streams or lakes, the gravel beds in 
places contain water under sufficient head to flow at the surface; but 
these conditions are strictly local. The water in such cases is derived 
from the uplands at no great distance from the wells. 

As shown in Plate I, the till covers a relatively small portion of the 
surface of the county. Its importance is greater, however, than its 
surface distribution would indicate, for throughout the entire county 
the other surface deposits are underlain by a layer of till which will 
probably average 200 feet in thickness. Its character is the same as 
in other parts of this area. In the moraines and the area of heaviest 
outwash water is commonly obtained above the till; but in those 
places where the till comes to the surface or where the outwash is thin 
deep driven or drilled wells penetrate into the till to some gravel or 
sand bed. Such open beds bear abundant waters which are hard but 
uncontaminated . 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

As a result of the very heavy mantle of glacial beds, the underlying 
rocks are nowhere at the surface in Kosciusko County, and only one 
well was found which had penetrated rock. No attempt has been 
made to map the distribution of the rock formations; but a well at 
Warsaw entered limestone, which is presumably of "Niagara" age, 
and it may be that later formations overlie the "Niagara" at the 
north edge of the county. This well, which was drilled for oil or gas, 



160 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

may be the only well at Warsaw that receives its water supply from 
the rock. The water is under artesian pressure and discharges a 
small stream 4 feet above the surface. (No. 17, p. 164.) An analysis 
of this water is No. 18 in the table on page 165. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

There are about half a dozen flowing wells in Warsaw (PI. IV, No. 
50), all but one of which obtain the water from gravel beds in 
the moraine upon which the town is situated. The depth to the 
flowing water differs in different parts of the town, and the conclu- 
sion is that different beds of gravel are drawn upon and that the beds 
are irregular in shape and distribution. At the waterworks plant a 
number of small flows were obtained from a depth of 135 feet. At 
the chair factory of A. Wilder & Co. a well 18 feet deep struck water 
that rises to the surface. Other flowing wells have been obtained at 
depths of 78 and 85 feet, but they are in the lower parts of town, 
and the head is sufficient to give flows only in the lowlands. A com- 
plete analysis of one of these waters is No. 17 in the table on page 165. 

A single well in Warsaw (No. 17, p. 164) is said to obtain water from 
a rock bed, which is probably of " Niagara " age. This well is reported 
to be cased to a depth of 400 feet, so that the water, which flows as a 
small stream 2 feet above the surface, must come from below this 
depth if the casing is still intact. An analysis of the water is No. 18 
in the table on page 165. The very remarkable similarity between 
this water and that from a shallow well in the drift (No. 17, p. 164) indi- 
cates strongly that the water from both wells is from the same depth 
or at least that both are drift waters. 

Area 51 (PI. IV) includes the village of Kalorama, a summer resort 
on the northeast shore of Tippecanoe Lake, which lies in a depression 
in the great interlobate moraine. The conditions are favorable for 
artesian wells, and a number of these have been obtained and are 
now flowing. All are driven wells, sunk through pebbly clay into 
gravel at 60 to 75 feet below the surface. The source of the flowing 
water is in the moraine to the north, and the intake of the water is 
probably not more than a mile, at most, from the point of emergence. 
Flows are to be expected only in the lowlands. 

A single flowing well is reported from northwest of Wauwas Lake, 
on the property of the Indiana Portland Cement Company. (PL IV, 
No. 52.) This is said to be a driven well and to flow in a 2-inch 
stream. The well is at the foot of a moraine ridge, and the waters 
are probably supplied to the well by a gravel bed which outcrops 
somewhere in the higher moraine to the east. 

A flowing well is reported from the farm of Samuel Kile, three- 
fourths of a mile north of Wooster. (PI. IV, No. 53.) It occurs in 
the lowlands and the water is obtained in gravel. The well is said to 
flow in a small stream. 



KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 161 

There is a single flowing well between Claypool and Burket, near 
a small creek which flows into Palestine Lake. (PL IV, No. 54.) 
The well extends 60 feet into gravel, and the water rises 3 feet above 
ground and discharges several gallons per minute. The head is 
doubtless from the moraine ridge to the southeast. 

On the property of Lucinda Hazen, 2 miles northeast of Etna 
Green, a flowing well has been obtained on low ground. (PL IV, 
No. 55.) The well is driven 82 feet to a gravel bed, and at 3 feet 
above the surface flows in a 1-inch stream. Other flows may prob- 
ably be obtained in the neighborhood on equally low ground. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Warsaw. — The public supply at Warsaw, is owned and operated by 
the Winona Water and Light Company and the water is drawn from 
Center Lake, a small body of water at the edge of the town. Sanitary 
analyses have so far shown this water to be free from colon bacilli, 
but it is heavily charged with organic matter of other kinds. A 
marsh at the edge of town which has been used as a dumping ground 
for all sorts of refuse drains into this lake. In flood seasons Tippe- 
canoe River, into which the sewage from Warsaw drains, backs up 
through a canal into Center Lake. At times the water has a decided 
smell and taste of decayed organic matter. By the installation of a 
good filtration system much of the objectionable matter could be 
removed and the supply could be made a very desirable one. 

At one time the water company drilled 14 wells, which obtained 
flowing waters in gravel at a depth of about 135 feet. These wells 
were all u in sympathy" with one another and with other flowing 
wells in town. The supply from them was insufficient for the demands 
of the public, and they have been abandoned in favor of the lake 
water. 

The water for city consumption is pumped to a standpipe 125 feet 
high, from which it is distributed by gravity. There are 7 to 8 miles 
of mains, 10, 8, 6, and 4 inches in diameter, and 800 taps are in use. 
About two-thirds of the people use the city water supply, and 
1,000,000 gallons a day are pumped. 

The people of Warsaw realize that the public water supply is 
unsafe, and almost every family owns a well for drinking water. 
These are driven or dug and range from 12 to 150 feet in depth. All 
terminate in gravel or sand, for the limestone here lies about 250 feet 
below the surface. In favored localities the wells flow, and even on 
higher ground the waters commonly rise within a few feet of the sur- 
face. The following materials were penetrated by a deep boring for 
oil in this town : a 

a Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Res., p. 265. 
46448°— wsp 254—10 11 



162 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Log of boring for oil at Warsaw. 

Feet, 

Drift 248 

Niagara limestone - 652 

Hudson River and Utica 478 

Trenton limestone 77 

1,464 

Syracuse. — Syracuse is situated on the west shore of a lake of the 
same name, and lies partly on the flat and partly on a well-developed 
morainic ridge. The public waterworks are owned by the city, and 
the water is taken from the lake and carried through an open mill 
race for about a mile through the town. Along the race there are 
houses, barns, and cesspools, and the chances for pollution are- 
abundant. The water is pumped by water power developed at the 
end of the race and is forced to a standpipe on the hill. The stand- 
pipe has a capacity of 32,000 gallons. The water is distributed by 
gravity and is used by about 20 per cent of the people. From 
5,000 to 30,000 gallons per day are used. 

About four-fifths of the people of Syracuse rely upon private wells 
for their water supply, and most of these wells are driven. On the 
hill the wells range in depth from 35 to 130 feet, while on lower 
ground the deepest wells are only 35 and the shallowest only 12 feet 
deep. Gravel was found by all wells, and the water is everywhere 
abundant. 

Milford. — The town of Milford is situated on an outwash gravel 
plain in the north-central part of the county. The town owns its 
own water system, which has been in operation since 1892. The 
water is taken from four drilled wells, each 40 feet deep, situated 
near the grist mill by which the pumping is done. The water is 
forced to an 83,000-gallon standpipe, 110 feet high, and is distributed 
by gravity. There are 2\ miles of mains, and 71 taps are in use, 
supplying 33 per cent of the population. An average of about 20,000 
gallons of water a day is pumped. 

The private supply of Milford is almost all from driven wells, which 
range in depth from 40 to 60 feet. The material penetrated is all 
gravel and sand, and the water is very abundant and rises within 6 
or 8 feet of the surface. Milford has no sewage system, and all the 
drainage from dug privy vaults, kitchen slops, stables, and other 
sources can readily enter the loose soil and become a part of the 
underground water supply. For this reason it is advisable to drive, 
the wells deeply into the gravel and to draw water only from the 
lower and purer beds. 

Pierceton. — The town of Pierceton installed its own water works in 
i897, and a single drilled well furnishes the entire supply. The well 
is 8 inches in diameter and 210 feet deep, and the water is supplied 
by a gravel bed 10 feet above the bottom of the well, and rises within 



KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 



163 



50 feet of the well mouth. An analysis is No. 8 in the table on page 
165. A deep-well pump lifts the water to a wooden tank of 15,000 
gallons capacity, and from the tank it is pumped by direct pressure 
into the mains, which are 6 and 4 inches in diameter and between 
li and 2 miles long. About 200 taps are supplied and 20,000 gallons 
per day are needed to supply 50 per cent of the people. The water 
is of fine quality, and the supply a very satisfactory one. There has 
been some complaint because the wooden reservoir becomes slimy 
at times, but reasonable care could prevent this. 

Mentone. — In Mentone, which has no public supply, the wells are 
all privately owned, and are driven, dug, or bored. The town lies 
on a till plain, and the wells all pass through this material into 
gravel, which is generally encountered at depths of 30 and 80 feet. 
Some of the waters from dug and bored wells are evidently bad, and 
the chances of contamination in such wells are many times greater 
than in the wells from the deeper beds. An analysis of water from 
a depth of 90 feet is No. 6 in the table on page 165. 

Other communities. — A tabulated list of other villages, with the 
conditions of their water supply, is given below : 

Other village supplies in Kosciusko County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Head 

above (+) 

or below 

( — ) surface. 

Feet. 
-30 


Character of 
water beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


Atwood 

Burket 


278 
286 
399 
91 
420 
28 
16 


Wells, drilled and driven., 
do... 


Feet. 

20 
10 
10 
20 
14 
20 
35 
30 
20 
15 
14 
16 

18 
15 
20 

30 
15 
20 
12 
20 
20 
20 


Feet. 

60 

80 

110 

35 

100 

100 

100 

70 

65 

30 

60 

44 

30 
125 
120 

65 
100 
140 
60 
40 
100 
100 


Feet. 
45 
15 
70 
30 
25 
90 
50 
60 
25 
20 
20 
18 

22 
20 
80 

30 
60 
50 
25 
25 
95 
26 


Gravel. 
Do. 


Claypool 

Clunette 

Etna Green 


Wells, dug and drilled 

Wells, driven 

Wells, driven and drilled.. 
Wells, driven and dug 


-20 to -50 

-28 
-12 


Gravel and sand. 
Sand. 
Gravel 
Do. 


Hastings 

Kalorama 




Do. 


do 


+6 to -5 
-20 
-15 
-15 
-16 

- 8 
-15 


Do. 




67 
390 


Wells, dug and driven. . .. 

Wells, driven 

do 


Do. 


Leesburg 

Menoquet 


Do. 
Do. 


Milford Junc- 
tion. 
North Webster. 


300 

61 

213 

126 
105 
300 
25 
22 
156 
72 


Wells, driven and drilled.. 
Wells, driven 


Do. 
Do. 


Oswego 


do 


Do. 


Packerton 


Wells, driven, drilled, and 

dug. 
Wells, driven and drilled.. 

Wells, driven and dug 

do 


Do. 


Palestine 

Sevastopol 

Sidney 


-30 


Do. 
Do. 


-15 


Do. 


Vawters Park. . 




Do. 


Wawasee 


do 




Do. 


Winona Lake. . . 
Wooster 


Wells, drilled and driven.. 
Wells, driven 


+4 to -10 


Do. 
Do. 











TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The following tables give detailed information regarding typical 
wells in Kosciusko County and analyses of their waters. The last 
column of each table contains numbers referring to identical wells in 
the other table. 



164 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



Records of typical wells in Kosciusko County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


ft 

fi 


a3 
P. 
>> 
Eh 


"5 
S 

c3 
fi 


o> 

03 

ft 

a> 

a 


+? 

* .. 
£^ 

go aj 

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"3 s- 

c3 t- 3 

0) O QQ 


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-?■§ 


B 

P.3 


5 


3 

ft 
B 
Eh 


d 
.23 

S 

< 


1 


Public well 

do 


Burket 


Feet. 

18 
68 
95 
55 
82 

18 
40 

210 
99 
45 

143 
26 
42 

150 

18 

78 

4-400 

95 

96 

63 


Driven. . 

Drilled. . 

Driven. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

Driven. . 
...do 

Dug 


In. 
li 

2 

n 

2 

U 

n 

4 

8 
H 
2" 
2 


Feet. 
16 
65 
90 
50 
82 

18 

"266' 
95 
45 
140 
26 
42 

135 

18 
78 

"85" 

96 
63 


Feet. 

- 10 

- 30 

- 12 

- 40 
+ 3 

- 18 

- 8 

- 50 

- 30 

- 15 
-100 

+ 2| 

4- 
+ 2 
+ 4 

+ 1 

+ 4 
+ 8 




Galls. 


°F. 


1 


?, 




...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do..... 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Sand 

Gravel . . 

...do 

...do 

...do 


...... 


52* 
53 


9 


3 


. dr> .. 


Etna Green 

do 

2 miles northeast 
of Etna Green. 


4 


4 
5 


Peter Newcomb . . . 
Lucinda Hazen 

Public well at bank 

Public supply 

do 


3 

5 


7 


Milford 


7 


8 




8 


9 
10 


Mrs. A. Personet. .. 
J. L. Warvel 


Sevastopol 


9 

10 


11 1 S.N. Hawley 

12 Public well 


do 

Silver Lake 


11 
1? 


13 


Public well at post- 
office. 

"Winona Light and 
Water Co. 

A.Wilder&Co.... 

Henry Shane 

Mrs. A. Oldfather.. 

Winona Lake as- 
sembly. 
do 

do 


Driven. . 
Drilled.. 

Driven. . 

Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 


2 
8 

1 

2 
8 
3 

2 


13 


14 






15 
16 
17 
18 

19 

20 


do 

do 

do 

Winona Lake 

Power plant, Wi- 
nona Lake. 
Winona Lake 


"17 
18 

14 



KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 



165 



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166 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

MADISON COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Madison County, which lies on the east edge of this area and in the 
second tier of counties from the south edge, is rectangular in outline 
and about twice as long as broad. Anderson, the county seat, is 32 
miles northeast of Indianapolis. The county has an area of about 460 
square miles, and had in 1900 a population of 70,470, or an average 
of 153 to the square mile. This population is due in part to the fer- 
tility of the farm lands, but is to a greater extent the result of the finds 
of natural gas in this and adjoining counties. At the present time, 
however, the supply of natural gas has decreased noticeably, many 
wells have been abandoned, and many factories whose existence 
depended on this cheap fueL have shut down. 

The maximum relief of this county is a little more than 100 feet, but 
a large portion of its surface lies between 850 and 900 feet above sea 
level (PI. I). The surface is a nearly level plain, interrupted only 
by the valleys of the larger streams. 

The entire surface drainage of the county is received by White 
River and its tributaries. This river, which crosses the county from 
east to west somewhat south of the center, has a valley in most 
places much less than 90 feet deep, and commonly not more 
than one-half mile wide. Fall Creek, the largest tributary, crosses 
the south edge of the county. Near Emporia its valley is about 40 
feet below the till plain, and becomes deeper westward. Pipe Creek, 
the most important tributary from the north, flows from the north- 
east corner to join White River a mile below Perkinsville. Each of 
these three large streams has a number of less important tributaries, 
but most of the valleys are mere grooves in the plain, and the uplands 
are flat and uneroded. 

As moraines are lacking in the county, there are no natural lakes. 
The level plains offer no undrained depressions to form lake basins, 
and there is no evidence that lakes have ever existed here. 

The only noteworthy area in which marshes occur is in the north- 
west corner, between the headwaters of Pipe Creek and Mississinewa 
River. Here a very flat area was formerly marshy, but by means of 
artificial surface ditches and by tiling the wet fields much of this land 
has been reclaimed. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Important alluvial beds are found only along the bottoms of White 
River and Fall and Pipe creeks (PI. I). These range in width from 
a few feet to about one-half mile, and their width along a single valley 



MADISON COUNTY. 167 

varies within short distances. Wells that penetrate the alluvium 
almost invariably reach abundant water at no great depth. 

Pebbly clay or till occupies almost all of the surface except the 
narrow belts of valley alluvium, and is continuous below most of the 
alluvial beds (PL I). The thickness of the till throughout the 
county is shown in Plate II. At a few points in the deep valleys the 
bed rock outcrops and the till is absent, but at other places it is 
very thick. North of Halford is a narrow belt that is doubtless a 
part of the valley of a preglacial stream, in which the till is from 300 
to 500 feet thick (PL II). It is possible that this buried valley 
extends to the northeast and connects with the valley that crosses 
Grant County, though the course it follows is not clear. Throughout 
the county as a whole the thickness of the till averages about 100 feet. 

In most of that part of the county which lies south of Alexandria 
the drift is so deep that the ordinary wells do not go through it but 
obtain supplies of water from the drift itself. Many loosely curbed 
dug wells are in use, and some of them fail to reach gravel beds, but 
are supplied by slow seepage from the pebbly clay. Drilled wells are 
now becoming more popular, and experience has shown that few of 
these fail to find a water-bearing gravel bed somewhere above the 
limestone. The drift waters are all very hard, and, though good for 
household and farm purposes if not polluted, they are poor for 
steaming. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The "Niagara" limestone, the youngest rock formation in this 
county, is everywhere the first bed rock found beneath the till. It 
outcrops in the valley of Fall Creek near Pendleton and in the White 
River valley near Anderson, but is elsewhere covered by glacial 
deposits of various thickness. The discovery of natural gas in this 
region has brought about the drilling of many deep wells, and by 
compiling the records of these it has been possible to determine 
approximately the depth to rock throughout the county (PL II). 
The "Niagara" limestone has proved to be a reliable source of supply 
for drilled wells. This fact became generally known when it was 
found that all gas borings had to be cased through the "Niagara" to 
keep the "Niagara" waters out of the lower part of the well. The 
waters are under artesian pressure and will flow at the surface in 
many lowland areas. Large numbers of abandoned gas wells are 
used for their water supply, and many rock wells have been drilled 
for the purpose of obtaining water, especially in those localities where 
the surface deposits are of moderate thickness. The waters are hard, 
but the overlying till protects them from contamination and the 
sanitary condition is usually excellent. 



168 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

Flowing wells have been obtained in an area along the bottom 
of Pipe Creek valley extending from below Frankton above Alex- 
andria and including the lower ends of some of the larger tributary 
valleys. (PL IV, No. 56.) All these wells are on very low 
ground near the stream, and almost all are old gas wells, the water 
coming from the " Niagara" limestone. The largest flow is from a 
well 2 miles northeast of Frankton, which yields about 90 gallons 
per minute, and most of the flows are much less. It seems probable 
that wells in the valley below Frankton, as far down as the mouth, 
would find flowing waters. Records of flowing wells in this area are 
Nos. 16 and 17 in the table on page 174. 

Area 57 (PL IV) includes the valley of White River for some dis- 
tance above and below Anderson. In this area are several flowing 
wells, all of which procure water from the " Niagara" limestone. 
The source of the waters may be from the southeast toward Rich- 
mond, for in this direction the limestone is higher than in Madison 
County and in the intervening area the drift covering is thick. It 
is probable, however, that the water supply of this limestone is at 
least in part from the overlying till, and the artesian head may be 
from the till rather than from distant outcrops of this formation. 
This area may possibly be continuous downstream with area 56, by 
way of the lower valley of Pipe Creek. 

In area 58 (PL IV) the conditions are very similar to those already 
described for areas 56 and 57. It includes the valley of Fall Creek 
entirely across the county, and the valley of Lick Creek to a point 
above Ingalls. Almost every gas well in the valley bottom between 
Pendleton and Middleton in Henry County yields flowing water. As 
in areas 56 and 57, the waters are from the " Niagara" limestone and 
the head is from the southeast. Further drilling will be likely to 
extend this area westward, as the valley becomes lower in that direc- 
tion, and flows may be found along Fall Creek in Hamilton County. 

A single flowing well is reported from the farm of Mr. John Fisher, 
2\ miles southeast of Pendleton, in the valley of a small stream. (PL 
IV, No. 59.) This well was bored for gas, and the limestone was 
entered 60 feet below the surface. The "Niagara" is here 203 feet 
thick, and the flowing water comes from it. 

In area 60 (PL IV), comprising a low, flat portion of the till plain 
south of Markleville, in the southeast corner of the county, there are 
a dozen or more flowing wells, all from gas borings. The water 
comes from the "Niagara," and the surface in this area is low enough 
to permit the water to flow. 

A number of flowing wells are reported from an area between 
Ingalls and Lapel. (PL IV, No. 61.) These differ from the flowing 



MADISON COUNTY. 169 

wells described above in that the water is obtained from gravel in 
the till and the rock is not penetrated. Some of the wells flow in 
good volume, which shows no signs of diminishing. 

There are several flowing wells in the neighborhood of Lapel 
(PI. IV, No. 62), the flows being obtained from the " Niagara" lime- 
stone. One is estimated to yield 48 gallons per minute and another 
(No. 21, p. 174), attached to a hydraulic ram, pumps sufficient water 
for a house and barn. The least depth at which flowing waters have 
been reached is 55 feet, at the north edge of Lapel. The limestone 
was here reached at 35 feet below the surface. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Anderson. — The city of Anderson owns its own water supply, and 
the water is taken from White River, which flows through the city. 
Although no sewage enters the river for 3 or 4 miles above the water- 
works, large quantities of it enter the river at Muncie, about 20 miles 
above, as well as at Winchester and at half a dozen villages between. 
Daily bacteria counts are made by the local health officer, and the 
number ranges from 800 to 400,000 per cubic centimeter in the raw 
river water. The number increases greatly after a rain. Within 
recent years a system for the filtration of the water has been installed, 
and is now being operated very successfully. The water is pumped 
from the river into coagulating basins, and to it are added from 1J 
to 2 grains of sulphate of alumina to each gallon of water. This acts 
as a coagulant. The water is then run by gravity into filter tanks. 
The filter consists of 4 feet of fine sand overlying 1 foot of gravel. 
From the filter beds the water is run into a clear tank holding 500,000 
gallons, and from this it is pumped by direct pressure into the mains. 
There are now in use 32 J miles of mains from 20 to 4 inches in diame- 
ter, and 2,200 taps are supplied. About one-third of the people use 
the city water, and the average daily pump is 1,500,000 gallons. 
Bacterial counts of the filtered and unfiltered waters show that the 
present process removes 96 to 98J per cent of the bacteria, and the 
appearance is changed from that of a very muddy and unpleasant to 
a clear and sparkling water. 

Many privately owned wells are still in use at Anderson, and 
almost all the drinking water is obtained from them. The water 
wells are dug, driven, and drilled and range in depth from 18 to 350 
feet. In the city the rock is commonly reached about 120 feet 
below the surface. Wells shallower than this get water from gravel 
beds, and these are the most common, while rock wells are few in 
number. There are good springs along the sides of the river valley. 
A deep gas boring at Anderson gave the following section : a 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 236. 



170 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Log of gas well at Anderson. 

Feet. 

Drift 114 

Niagara limestone and shale 186 

Clinton(?) 20 

Hudson River and Utica 494 

Trenton limestone 24 

838 

Elwood. — The public supply of Elwood, owned by the Elwood 
Water Company, a private concern, is drawn from 14 drilled wells, 
located near the pumping station. Of these, 10 are 150 feet deep 
and 4 are 400 feet deep, all are 8 inches in diameter, and all obtain 
their water from the "Niagara" limestone. The water rises within 
20 feet of the surface — that is, 40 feet above the limestone. The 
water is pumped directly from the wells into the mains. 

There are two surface reservoirs which together hold 1,500,000 
gallons for a reserve supply in case of fire, but otherwise these are 
not used. There are 14 miles of mains and 1,100 taps, and on an 
average 650,000 gallons per day are needed to supply about 40 per 
cent of the population. An analysis of this water is No. 16 in the 
table on page 175. 

Most of the private wells in Elwood are dug, and range from 15 to 
20 feet in depth. The water is found in clay or sand, but is too near 
the surface to be safe from pollution, especially where the wells are 
located among dwellings, barns, and other buildings. The water 
from the deeper wells or city supply is much safer. Some drilled wells 
have found abundant water in limestone at 60 to 150 feet below the 
surface, and this supply is highly recommended. 

Alexandria. — The town of Alexandria owns a public supply obtained 
from seven drilled wells. Of these five were drilled for water and are 
located at the pumping station. They are 10 inches in diameter and 
350 feet deep, all except the upper 15 or 20 feet being in the " Niagara" 
limestone. The chief water supply was reached at a depth of 110 
feet. The pumps are also connected with two old gas borings, one 
500 and the other 1,800 feet south of the pumping station. The 
water is pumped to a standpipe 100 feet high and holding 235,000 
gallons, and is distributed by gravity. There are 10 miles of mains 
and 500 taps in use, and somewhat over 50 per cent of the people are 
supplied. About 300,000 gallons of water are used each day. Mineral 
analyses of the city water are Nos. 4 and 5 in the table on page 175. 

Most of the private wells in Alexandria are drilled, and water from 
both the gravels and the underlying rock is used. Most of the wells 
that are 60 to 70 feet deep obtain an unfailing supply of water from 
the rock, although the head is said to be 25 feet lower than it was ten 



MADISON COUNTY. lYl 

years ago. The geologic section at Alexandria, as shown by a gas 
boring, is as follows: 

Log of gas well at Alexandria. 

Feet. 

Drift 20 

Niagara limestone : 261 

Hudson River and Utica shale 611 

Trenton limestone 5 

897 

Frankton. — The Frankton public supply was installed in 1899 and 
is owned by the town. The water is drawn from a dug well 20 feet 
deep and 20 feet in diameter. This well is located 30 feet from Pipe 
Creek and only 10 feet above it, and in flood times the creek water 
can run into the top of the well. During even the normal stages of 
the creek the water is poor, though clear, and is used largely for 
sprinkling. There are 4 miles of mains and the water is used by 
about 40 per cent of the people. About 25,000 gallons per day are 
consumed. 

Nearly every family in Frankton owns a well, most of the wells being 
dug and from 15 to 20 feet deep. In the south and east parts of the 
town are some drilled wells that go into limestone at a depth of about 
130 feet. The shallow wells are in great danger of pollution by the 
penetration downward, from the surface and from dug cesspools, 
of sewage and organic matter of various sorts. Where it is possible 
the deeper drilled wells should be used, as they are much safer. 

Summitville. — The Summitville water system, which is owned by 
the town and was installed in 1902, is supplied by a single drilled 
well 8 inches in diameter and 347J feet deep. The well was drilled 
through the bottom of the "Niagara" limestone, which is here 100 
feet below the surface. No reservoir is used, and the pressure is 
maintained directly from the pumps. There are 2\ miles of 8 and 4 
inch mains and 130 taps, by which somewhat less than half the people 
are supplied. The well furnishes sufficient water for the ordinary 
city demand, but the pumping works are connected with a pond 
from which water can be drawn in case of fire. 

In Summitville the private wells are dug, driven, or drilled, the 
dug wells 13 to 30 feet, and the driven wells 60 to 100 feet deep. 
The common depth to which wells are sunk is 60 feet, and gravel 
beds supply most of the water. Mineral analyses of wells of the 
dug type and of drilled wells in the limestone are Nos. 29, 30, and 
31 in the table on page 176. 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 235. 



172 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

The geologic section at Summitville is given below, as determined 
by a gas- well boring. 

Log of gas ivell at Summitville. a 

Feet. 

Drift 100 

Niagara limestone 236 

Hudson River limestone and shale 300 

Utica shale 292 

Trenton limestone 50 

978. 

Pendleton. — Pendleton is on the banks of Fall Creek, the valley of 
which is here cut 50 feet below the till plain. The "Niagara" lime- 
stone outcrops along the creek above and below town, and the drift 
in the lowlands is nowhere more than 18 feet thick. All the wells 
are drilled into rock and range in depth from 28 to 140 feet, the 
common depth being about 35 feet. The water is plentiful and 
excellent, and rises within 9 to 25 feet of the surface. There are 
some good springs along the valley sides. Flowing waters are 
found deep in the limestone by gas borings, but the ordinary water 
wells do not reach sufficient depths to procure water from this source. 

Lapel. — Lapel, situated on Stony Creek near the west edge of the 
county, has a few shallow wells which obtain water from the till, 
but most of them are drilled into the limestone. The drift is here 
30 to 70 feet deep, and the limestone waters are pure and in little 
danger of pollution. The common rock wells are only 30 to 59 
feet deep. A few of the deeper limestone wells have obtained flowing 
waters, described above as in artesian area 62 (p. 169), but most of 
the wells do not' flow. 

Orestes. — Orestes has no waterworks system, and the supply is all 
from private wells. Most of the wells are dug and penetrate only 
15 to 25 feet into the surface deposits, in which plenty of water is 
found; but this water is very easily polluted and is a source of great 
danger where used. Many drilled wells go into limestone, which is 
here within 50 to 60 feet of the surface, and the waters obtained are 
both abundant and pure. The drilled wells average about 70 feet in 
depth. 

Ingalls. — Ingalls lies between Lick and Fall creeks in the southwest 
corner of the county and has a few dug wells, though the driven and 
drilled wells are more in favor. There are, perhaps, a dozen wells 
which reach the limestone, which is found at depths of 80 to 100 
feet. The rock here seems to be unusually free from openings, 
and some of the rock wells can be pumped dry, though many yield 
large volumes of water. A few old gas wells have obtained flowing 
waters from the limestone. Driven wells 40 feet in average depth 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 260. 



MADISON COUNTY. 



173 



are most used, and the water, which comes from a gravel bed in the 
till, is plentiful and good. 

Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in Madison County, with particulars regarding their water 
supply: 

Other village supplies in Madison County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth to rock. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 
below 
surface. 


Character of 
water beds. 


Town. 


Least. 


Great-j Com- 
est. | mon. 






Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, driven and 

drilled. 
Wells, drilled and 

dug. 
Wells, driven and 

dug. 
Wells, drilled and 

driven. 
Wells, driven and 

... dU cfo 


Feet. 
26 

20 

18 

12 

35 

25 

13 

20 

18 
14 
32 
20 


Feet. 
130 

400 

100 

80 
140 

65 

60 
55 

89 

115 

120 

130 


Feet. 

26 

22 
75 
60 
75 

35 

45 

25 

25 
20 
33 


Feet. 


Feet. 




Chesterfield 

Dundee 


1G4 
175 

61 
250 

98 

400 
100 

100 

225 


110 
18-50 

110 
30-70 


0-30 
10-20 
10-30 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Do. 




Gravel. 


Fishersburg 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 




64 
25 


10 
9 


Do. 




Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

driven. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled; springs. 
Wells, drilled and 

driven. 






gravel. 


Markleville 


100 

140 

80-100 


3 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 


Perkinsville 


318 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two following tables contain detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Madison County and analyses of their waters. The 
last column in each table gives numbers referring to identical wells 
in the other table 



174 



UNDEBGROTJND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 







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176 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 177 

MARION COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Marion County is at the south edge of the area here under discus- 
sion, and in the middle north-south tier of counties. It has a total 
area of 400 square miles and is about 20 miles in each dimension, 
the only irregularity in outline being a slight eastward projection of 
the northeast corner. Indianapolis, the county seat, is also the state 
capital, and is by far the largest city in Indiana. 

The surface of the county is a dissected plateau with the highest 
portions in the northwest and southwest corners. The range of eleva- 
tion is from about 660 feet, at the lowest point in the White Kiver 
valley, to somewhat more than 850 feet at Lawrence, and at the point 
where Marion, Hamilton, and Boone counties meet. (See PL I.) 

White River crosses the county from north to south, and with its 
tributaries drains almost its entire area. The depth of the valley 
varies in different parts of the county as the elevations of the adjacent 
uplands vary, but is generally deeper in its lower course. At River- 
side Park the morainic bluffs rise about 75 feet above the stream. 
The flood plain is broad, though generally less than a mile in width, 
but 10 to 25 feet above it there is along the entire river course within 
the county a broad gravel terrace, at many points 2 or 3 miles wide, 
though narrower at some places. Indianapolis lies on this terrace. 

The largest tributary of White River is Fall Creek, joining it from 
the northeast. In this county the courses of these two streams are 
roughly parallel. Eagle Creek, which comes in from the northwest 
and joins the White below Indianapolis, has throughout its course 'a 
well-developed flood plain and valley. Near Traders Point the stream 
flows more than 50 feet below the uplands. 

Buck Creek flows south along the southeast edge of the county and 
drains about 45 square miles of surface into East Fork of White 
River. All these streams have many small tributaries which drain 
the surface very thoroughly. There are no natural lakes worthy of 
mention. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Alluvial materials occupy the bottoms of all the larger valleys, and 
vary in importance with the size of the streams. Another class of 
alluvial beds of much importance in this county comprises the 
stratified gravels which lie above the present flood plain of White 
River and form the great flat terrace, averaging perhaps 2 miles in 
width, upon which Indianapolis is situated. The alluvial beds 

oLeverett, Frank, Wells of southern Indiana: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 26, p. 26. 
46448°— wsp 254—10 12 



178 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

furnish enormous quantities of water to wells wherever they occur. 
It has been estimated that in Indianapolis alone there are 25,000 
wells, and all but a small part of this number are in the alluvium. 
The wells yield sufficient water for domestic uses, and many of the 
gravel wells produce large quantities of water for industrial purposes. 
Open gravel beds may be encountered at various depths, but those 
near the surface should" be avoided as much as possible unless the 
wells are situated at some distance from possible sources of pollution. 

As shown in Plate I, about half the surface of the county is covered 
with glacial moraine, occurring in three separate areas. East of 
White River the moraine surface is characteristic, consisting of low 
undulating hills, which, however, in few places stand more than 50 
feet above their surroundings. West of this river the morainic char- 
acter of the surface is less strongly shown, though in many places it 
is unmistakable. The conditions for obtaining wells in the moraines 
are very irregular, and the depth of wells at any given place depends 
to a great extent upon the amount and thickness of the gravel beds 
in the drift. For driven or drilled wells, gravels or sands must be 
penetrated, and the depth ranges from 10 or 15 to 200 feet, depths of 
50 or 60 feet being common. Open or dug wells are used to a con- 
siderable extent, and these are supplied by seep waters from the 
clayey drift. 

The relative area of surface covered by till is less important here 
than in any other county of this region south of Wabash River 
(PL I). Nevertheless, the till has been encountered by all borings 
that have gone through the surface deposits, and is probably continu- 
ous, over the rock, throughout the county. As in the moraines, dug 
wells supplied by the slow-moving waters of the clay are very com- 
mon. Within recent years it has become generally understood that 
drilled wells are almost certain to find gravel beds from which more 
plentiful and better water can be had, and most new wells are of this 
type. The water table in the till fluctuates noticeably with the sea- 
sons, and for unfailing open wells it is necessary to dig below the per- 
manent water level. Deep drilled or driven wells are unaffected by 
dry spells. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The " Niagara" limestone in Marion County is everywhere over- 
lain by younger rocks. Deep borings and our general knowledge 
of the structure of the rocks indicate that it extends continuously 
below the entire county and is 200 to 275 feet thick. It is of much 
the same character as it is farther to the north and east where surface 
outcrops occur. All wells in the "Niagara" encounter abundant 
waters which enter from well-defined openings. In Indianapolis 
many wells are supplied by these waters, but there the " Niagara" 
is overlain by the Devonian limestones and the wells are cased only 



MARION COUNTY. 179 

to the top of the Devonian. Consequently, the waters obtained repre- 
sent a mixture from the two formations, and it was difficult to get 
unmixed samples from either horizon. 

East of Indianapolis the Devonian limestones are the youngest 
rocks. The records of drillers commonly class all limestones above 
the "Niagara" as "Corniferous," and this term will be used in the 
well logs. The limestone, from 40 to 50 feet thick, is very porous 
and open, and is sometimes spoken of as "honeycomb limestone." 

The Devonian limestones yield good supplies of water, but they are 
drilled easily, and most drilled wells go through them to procure addi- 
tional waters from the underlying "Niagara." No unmixed samples 
of water from these rocks could be obtained, but a number of analyses 
of waters from both the "Niagara" and " Corniferous " are given in 
the table on pages 185-186. 

The New Albany shale underlies the drift in most of the south and 
west portions of the county. The shale is a very poor water pro- 
ducer, and wells which reach it have little chance of obtaining good 
water supplies unless the boring is continued through to the limestone 
below. At Bridgeport, near the top of this formation, the shale is 
124 feet thick. 

The "Knobstone" group, consisting of shales and sandstones, is 
thought to underlie the extreme southwest corner of the county. 
No w T ells were found which have penetrated these beds. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

There is a single district in Marion County in which flowing wells 
have been procured. This area lies west of Traders Point, along the 
creek bottom and on the slopes near by. (PL IV, No. 63.) Although 
a number of flowing wells have been obtained, one, much better than 
the others (No. 20 in the table on p. 184), is 87 feet deep and pene- 
trated a gravel bed in the moraine. The water will rise 16 feet 
above the surface, and the flow at 2 feet above the surface is about 8 
gallons per minute. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Indianapolis. — The Indianapolis water supply system, owned by 
the Indianapolis Water Company, a private corporation, was installed 
in 1870, a part of the water being taken from White River, and part 
from deep drilled wells. The river water is drawn from the lake 
formed by a dam at Broad Ripple Park, and carried by canal to 
filter beds near the Riverside pumping station. The filtration 
removes most of the matter in suspension, and materially reduces 
the number of bacteria present. About 60 per cent of the city water 



180 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

is supplied from the river. The remainder is obtained from wells at 
the Riverside pumping station, where the company owns 254 acres 
of carefully guarded land, on which the sanitary conditions are 
excellent. There are 33 drilled wells, most of which are situated 
along two lines, though a few of them are scattered. All are drilled 
into limestone, which is entered at 60 to 90 feet below the surface, 
and the depths range from 273 to 364 feet. The wells will yield 
about 16,000,000 gallons per day. When first drilled, in 1896, the 
water in the wells stood 8 feet above the low- water level of the river, 
but has now dropped to 32 feet below low-water level. 

In August, 1898, a number of the wells were tested, and 25 delivered 
a normal yield of 18,694,583 gallons daily. In the same month, of 
three wells tested with a 90-foot air lift, No. 1 yielded 1,297,344 
gallons per day, No. 2 yielded 1,323,195 gallons, and No. 3 yielded 
1,263,805 gallons. The water from all the wells is pumped by air 
lift to the surface, but both the well and the filtered water is pumped 
by direct pressure into the mains. There are 282 miles of mains 
from 4 to 36 inches in diameter, and 18,863 services are in use, with 
2,291 fire hydrants. About 140,000 people are supplied, and the 
average daily pump of both well and river water is 17,883,800 gallons. 

Altogether the supply is a very satisfactory one. The health of 
the city is good, and there has been much less trouble with typhoid 
fever than there was when private wells furnished the supply. 

Indianapolis has long been known as a city especially favored by 
the abundance of the underground water supply. Before the instal- 
lation of the public water system every family owned a private 
well, and it is estimated that there are still 25,000 wells in use. 
Most of these are drilled or driven and obtain water from gravel 
beds which occur at various depths, all being good water bearers. 
In that part of the city which lies east of the river there are two 
distinct water zones in gravel, the upper, at 45 to 60 feet in depth, 
called the first gravel, and another at 70 to 80 feet, known as the 
second gravel. In the flat west of the river the first-gravel water 
is found at 12 to 20 feet below the surface, and the second gravel 
at about 50 feet. In almost all wells the first-gravel waters are 
polluted, for in all thickly settled areas it is inevitable that much 
organic matter and sewage should enter the ground, and some of 
this enters the shallow wells. A great deal of sickness is without 
question due to the use of wells of this class. The second-gravel 
waters are much safer, as they are protected above by a layer of 
clayey till, but many sanitary analyses indicate that even these wells 
contain organic matter. Many of them, however, supply an abun- 
dance of good water. The following is the log of a second-gravel 
well, the analysis of whose water is No. 8 in the table on page 185. 



MAKIOK COUNTY. 181 

Log of Parry Manufacturing Company's well at Indianapolis. 

Feet. 

Gravel 60 

Blue clay 4 

Gravel 11 

75 

A number of other well logs are given by Leverett a in his report 
on the wells of southern Indiana. 

Another and much superior class of water is that supplied by 
deep-drilled wells from the limestone. In Indianapolis the rock 
lies from 80 to 120 feet below the surface, and does not outcrop 
at the surface within many miles of the city. It is protected from 
contamination from above by a considerable thickness of till, and 
the chances of pollution from the surface are remote. There are, 
perhaps, 300 rock wells in the city,, most of them used by manufac- 
turing establishments or by office buildings. Two rock divisions 
may be entered, the "Corniferous" limestone, to a thickness of about 
50 feet, and next below it the " Niagara" limestone. A number of 
analyses of rock waters in Indianapolis are given in the table on pages 
185-186. These waters are all drawn from both formations, as the 
wells are cased only to the surface of the "Corniferous," while the 
borings go into the "Niagara." A well at the Deaf and Dumb 
Asylum is reported to have penetrated the following materials: 

Log of well at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 

Ft. in. 

Depth of dry well 20 10 

Gravel, clay, etc 78 8 

Shale 3 6 

Limestone 172 

Porous blue rock (water) 35 10 

Hard rock 3 .. 

313 10 

The analysis of this water is to be found on page 185, No. 13. 

No records of strata in deep borings at Indianapolis could be 

obtained, but the following logs are from gas borings at Broad 

Ripple, 7 miles north of the statehouse, and at Bridgeport, 9 miles 

southwest : 

Section of well at Broad Rippled 

Feet. 

Drift 55 

Corniferous limestone 48 

Niagara limestone 257 

Hudson River and Utica 504 

Trenton limestone 24 



a Op. cit., p. 28. b Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 237. 



182 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF N « >i:T I ! -< T.XTRAL INDIANA. 

Section of well at Bridgeport. 

Feet. 

Drift 140 

Devonian shale 121 

Corniferous limestone 40 

N iagara limestone 200 

Hudson River limestone and shale 475 

Trenton limestone 74 

1,108 

Briglitwood .— Bright wood is a part of Indianapolis, but is supplied 
by a separate water system, owned b}^ the city. The water is 
obtained from two drilled wells 130 feet deep, and one well 380 
feet deep, and is pumped to an underground reservoir holding 
40,000 gallons. Direct pressure is used, and the system has 31,500 
feet of mains. There are 400 consumers and about 93,000 gallons 
per day are used. The present' supply is adequate for ordinary 
uses, but it gives insufficient fire protection. 

Fort Benjamin Harrison. — Fort Benjamin Harrison, situated a few 
miles northeast of Indianapolis, was completed in 1907, and has its 
own water system. In 1907 there were four deep wells, of which 
three were drilled for water, and the fourth was an old gas well, 
plugged at 318 feet. The rock here lies at a depth of 195 feet, and 
the water is all taken from the limestone. Elaborate tests of the 
capacity of these wells have been made, and the four pumped together 
will yield about 120 gallons per minute. The log of one well is as 
follows : 

Log of iv ell at Fort Benjamin Harrison. 

Feet. 

Soil 20 

Hard gray sandy clay 40 

Same with some gravel 40 

Hardpan 40 

White quartz sand (water-bearing) 35 

Quicksand 3 

Brown limestone (?) 7 

Gray gravel, sand, and clay 10 

Disintegrated limestone (water-bearing) 15 

Brown sandy limestone 45 

Gray limestone (plentiful water) 120 

Shale 20 

Hard limestone 7 

417 

The water is pumped to two standpipes, and distributed by 
gravity, and the supply is expected to be sufficient for the demands 
of the fort. 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 2.57. 



MAKION COUNTY. 
OTHER COMMUNITIES. 



183 



The following table contains a list of other villages in Marion 
County, with the conditions of their water supply : 

Village supplies in Marion County. 





o 

S 

a 
o 

a 

ft 
o 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


o 

o 

ft 

01 


Head above ( + ) 
or below ( — ) 
surface. 




Town. 


1 

(3 


CD 
"c3 

o 


a 

o 

g 

I 

O 


Character of 
water beds. 




460 

100 
375 

487 

199 
276 
310 

27 

52 
100 
385 
215 


Wells , dug and 

driven. 
/Wells, dug and 
\ drilled. 
W r ells. dug, driven, 

and drilled. 
Wells, drilled and 

dug. 
do 


Feet. 
22 

} » 

10 

20 

6 
14 
15 

15 

30 
25 
10 
14 

20 

12 

11 

10 

| 20 

IS 

15 


Feet. 
40 

125 
80 

150 

112 
200 
240 

50 

00 
50 
30 
110 

118 

100 

150 

40 

87 

135 
215 


Feet. 
35 

J 20 

\ 100 

60 

60 

20 
20 
140 

30 

50 
40 
20 
90 

60 

95 

20 

38 

25 

20 
55 


Feet. 


Feet. 


Gravel. 




} 




Sand and gravel. 




J 




Do. 


Broad Ripple 


40-90 
240 


- 8 
-15 


Sand, gravel, and 

limestone. 
Gravel. 




do 


Do. 


Cumberland 


do 

Wells, dug and 
driven. 

do 

Wells, driven 

Wells, dug 

Wells, drilled and 

dug. 
Wells, driven, 
drilled, and dug. 
Wells, driven and 

dug. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

driven. 
(Wells, dug and 
\ drilled. 

do 

.do.. 


Sand, gravel, and 

limestone. 
Sand and gravel. 


Glens Valley 






Gravel. 


Howland Station... 






Do. 




200 


...„ ... 


Gravel and till. 


New Augusta 


Gravel. 
Do. 




70 
300 
285 

50 

H5 
300 


SO 
160 


- 8 


Gravel and lime- 


Oaklandon 


stone. 
Gravel. 




Sand and gravel. 


Traders' Point 

Valley Mills 




{ ±1 


| Do. 

Gravel. 


184 




Do. 









184 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The following tables give detailed information regarding typical 

wells in Marion County and analyses of their waters. The last 

column in each table gives the numbers of identical wells in the other 

table. 

Records of typical wells in Marion County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


si 

ft 

a; 
P 


ft 

Eh 


1 

5 


T3 

O 

A 
P. 
P 


i 

+ ~ 

H 

EG 


i 

s 

w . 

C K 

"S3 

to S-i 

.a 







p. 

p 


3 

a 
1 

p 


6 

y 

"m 

>> 
"oS 

a 
< 


1 

9 


C W. Heady & Son.. 


Broad Ripple... 


Feet. 

43 
156 

32 
313 

380 
300 
217 

80 
354 

365 
300 

300 

376 

350 

405 

400 
303 

270, 160 

77 
87 


Drilled. . 

...do 

Driven. . 
Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do... . 

...do 

...do..... 


In. 

3 
2 

"~8 

8 
8 
8 

4 

8 

8 
6 

8 
10 
10 

4 

6 
6 

8 

3 
2 


Ft. 

42 
150 

32 
310 

370 

'200 

80 
190 

230 

325 

370 

110 

185 

70 
87 


Ft. 

- 8 
-40 


Gravel 


Ft. 
43 
120 


Gall. 


1 


3 


W.C Rush 






Gravel 




?, 


4 

5 
6 

7 


Deaf and Dumb Asy- 
lum. 

National Starch Co.. . 

Indiana Abattoir Co. 

Majestic Office Build- 
ing. 

Pope Motor Car Co. . . 

Western Cold Storage 
and Ice Co. 

Home Brewing Co . . . 

Indianapolis Brewing 
Co. 

Noe Ike-Richards 
Iron Works. 

Indiana polis Cold 
Storage Co. 

Indianapolis Light 
and Heat Co. 

Interior Hard wood 
Co. 

Capital Rattan Co — 

Advance Veneer and 
Lumber Co. 

Soldiers and Sailors 
Monument. 

Augustus Bowen 

Everet Mavel 


Indianapolis 

do 

do 

do 


-30 

-18 
-15 
-45 

-16 
-30 

-60 
-70 

-70 

-46 

-20 


Limestone . 

do 

do 

do 


99 
98 




13 

12 

"is 


8 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 










9 

10 
11 


Limestone . 

do...... 

do 

.....do 

do 

do 


100 

100 

100 

124 

100 
85 




14 

7 
16 

6 


13 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 




14 






15 


— 18! do 






16 
17 

18 


-19 
-60 

-42 

-28 
+ 16 


do 

do 




23 
25 

?4 


19 


Gravel 

do 


78 






20 


Traders Point . . 


8 


.... 



MARION COUNTY. 



185 



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•joioo 


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■( 8 ON) 

8 1 I p B J 91P+IK 


8 1 




















•( 8 ON) 
a 1 o i p b a 9jbj;im 


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d 












: g . 




E-i 


•(10) 9uuoiqo 


co o o i-H ^ho -Ht^oiosooo— < E -1 
co-^ccc^i o u5i-ioJO>^H»oi-ieo 


(*OS) 

groipBJ g+Bqding 


o> r-- oo cm r^o r^i— iococo^— 'O>o rt< 

O "5 CO ^H •* rt O^COi-H gS i-l © °° 


•; , oob)®p 

-ipisj 9|BuoqjBoig 


JO g ■ ■ • ■ • • 
CO CM '• • ' ■ ■ 




| o o 
"( E 00) ° 'or- oo o eo co r- 

gpip^a g^uoqjBO | 2 cm S S n 2 2 


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*-i • CM CM 
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•(3) mnisseioj 1 : : : : : : : : 

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-H ,H CO 


( s O!S) ^IIIS 


CM tj< t}i CM 

'• ' NN CO CM CM-H©lOi-Ht-l©|>l ■ 


Material 

in which 

water 

occurs. 


« .2 

c3 ; 
a : 






C 
o 

to C 

6 * 
3 


4 
> 
C 

C 


G 
O 

03 C 


c 
— 


d d c 

T3 TJ -C 


d 

-q 


o 
03 

Q 


t- ! coco 


'5 

© 

< 


© 
d ' — T 

OS ' •- 

1-1 : a, 
: < 


o 

. CT> 

: XJ 

: fa 




tn 
>, 

c 
< 


H.E.Barnard. 
do 

T.W.Smith.. 

Dearborn 
Drug and 
C h e m i c al 
Co. 
do 


c 


c 
- 


6 6 

rq -q 




i : 

o : 


H 6 


o 
m 


Drilled well, 43 
ft. by 3 in. 

Driven well, 70 
ft. 

WpM. snn ft 


Well, 60 ft. by 
6 in. 

Well, 274 ft. bv 

10 in. 
Drlled well, 

300 ft, by 8 

in.o 
Drilled well, 

365 ft. by 8 in. 
Well, 75 ft. by 

8 in. 
Drilled well, 

188 ft. 
Drilled wells, 

205 ft. 
Drilled well, 

240 ft. by 8 in. 
Drilled well, 

380 ft. by 8 in. 
Drilled well, 

313 ft. by 8 in. 
Drilled well, 

354 ft. by 8 

in. b 
Drilled well, 

217 ft. by 8 in. 

a Water fro 


a 

O 

1 
o 


Broad Ripple . 

Flackville 

Indianapolis . . 
do 

do 


c 
- 


c 

■z 


6 6c 


c 


d d c 


d 

-q 


a 

o 


C. W. Heady & 

Son. 
W.C.Rush 

L. S. Ayres & Co.. 
United States En- 
caustic Tile Co. 

Merchants' Light 
and Heat Co. 

Noelke-R i c hards 
Iron Works. 

Home Brewing Co. 

Parry Manufac- 
turing Co. 

State Life Build- 
ing. 

American Brew- 
ing Co. 

Central Power Co.. 

National Starch 

Co. 
Deaf and Dumb 

Asylum. 
Western Cold 

Storage and Ice 

Co. 
Majestic Office 

Building. 


6 


^H CM C 


-<- 


i ir 


) <£ 


t> 


« 


o c 


1- 


CM CO ^ 


iO 



186 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



w 

p 

.5 

c 
O 



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jo pjooaa ui -ox 


l = 










'2 — H 


•spnosi^ox § 








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0(0 C* <S tN 


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.... CM 


•( £ ON) 
a i o ] p b j 9}UJJN 












'.'.'.'. 2 


•( p ON) 
ajoipBj a;BJ}iN 


£ 










•(10) auuoiqo 


XI"- lOQOOO N NOD O >d O 
t^ <M (M "if >— 1— — X — 


'(*0S) t-io o ^ -* ^ x o ;r: m' -# 

apipBi a^qdjng i°S os-*«o <n wcs oc - « 


•( £ O0H) 9P : : : : : : :^ 2 § g 
-ipBi ajBuoqaBoxg i : : : : : : : w w " r ^ 


— o c o o 
*( £ O0) ;t:t- Hao> id 4 ' 
apipBJ a^BuoqjBO : § S £i25S S § 


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^ (N.f 


C5 C* '-' ~ ~ 


•(3K)um!san3eH 1 S ° 833 $ 3S 9 & 2 


■(bo) umpiBO 1 £ °° B " co0 N t ~'° S * <* 


•(lY) nmuiumiv : : 




co ;<n 
•(aj) uoji „. 

! - : 


c 
cc N 


( z O!S) eaWS w 






cr 


Tt< -* x 50 ! 


Material 

in which 

water 

occurs. 


O 

c 


e 

3 








Limestone . 

do 

do 


® 

ft 


SO 


■ ■>* 
• c 
;cr 


— 

£ 

- 




"July," 1907" 

do 

do 

Sept., 1907 


Analyst. 




Lake Shore 
and Mich- 
igan South- 
ern R. R. 

do 

do 


_c 


C 
a 

i 

(X 

c 


do 

Chase Palmer. 

do 

do 

JI. E.Barnard. 


o5 

3 



X 


Drilled well, 

175 ft. by Gin. 

Pogues Run a. . 

do.b 

While River c 


Z L " 
6-66 


Well, 180 ft 

Drilled well, 

400 it.d 
Drilled wells, 

270 and 100 ft. 
Drilled well, 

303 ft. by G 

in.e 
Well, 143 ft 


Location. 


Indianapolis . . 
do 


d c 


c 
— 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

New Augusta. 


(a 

O 


•n 

a a 
eg 




> 
P 
P 

a 

> 


Columbia Con- 
serve Co. 
Do 

Capital Rattan Co. 

Soldiers and Sail- 
ors' Monument. 

Advance Veneer 
and Lumber Co. 

Frank Fox 


d 
2 


g 


c- 


x cr 


S 


5 





UNDERGROUND WATERS OP NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 187 

MARSHALL COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Marshall County lies along the west edge of the area here under 
discussion and is in the second tier of counties south of the Michigan- 
Indiana line. It measures about 22 miles from east to west and 21 
miles from north to south, and is therefore almost square. The total 
area is 440 square miles, and as the population in 1900 was 25,119, 
there were 57 inhabitants to the square mile. Plymouth, the county 
seat, is 108 miles north of Indianapolis and 75 miles southeast of 
Chicago. 

The county is essentially plateau-like. The total range in elevation 
is but little more than 100 feet. The lowest point is in the Tippe- 
canoe Valley in the southeast corner; several points on the west 
and north edge are more than 850 feet above sea level (PI. I). The 
east half of the county is a monotonous plain, varied only by a few 
small areas of low moraine ; the west half is largely occupied by the 
Maxinkuckee moraine, which extends southward from St. Joseph River 
through St. Joseph and Marshall counties and into Fulton County. 
This moraine, though of characteristic topography, is not of great 
relief, and in few places stands more than 50 feet above the bordering 
plains. 

Along the west edge of the county is an irregular belt of flat sur- 
face, which is part of the bed of the glacial Lake Kankakee, and 
this abandoned basin is now a sandy plain. 

Yellow River enters the county near its northeast corner and flows 
southwest in a zigzag course, draining almost three-fourths of the 
surface. In its course across the Maxinkuckee moraine the valley is 
in some places 40 to 50 feet below the bordering uplands, but in the 
till plain near Bremen it is much shallower. The flood plain does not 
generally exceed one-fourth mile in width. 

Tippecanoe River crosses the southwest corner of the county 
through the till plain, and is fed by a number of small tributaries with 
shallow valleys. 

A branch of Kankakee River heads in the moraine in the northwest 
corner of the county, and with its tributaries drains an area of about 
40 square miles. The stream valleys are all small and shallow. 

There are many lakes in Marshall County, all of which occupy 
basins in the moraine itself or in bordering areas where the drainage 
has been obstructed by the moraines. Most of the lakes are small, 
but the largest, Lake Maxinkuckee, in the southwest corner of the 
county, is about 2 square miles in area, and has a maximum depth 
of 76 feet. The lake, which is fed by springs and the drainage 
from a small area of the surrounding hilly moraine, has become pop- 
ular as a summer resort, on account of its excellent boating, bathing, 



188 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

and fishing, and, besides the villages of Culver and Maxinkuckee, a 
considerable part of the shore line is occupied by residences and hotels. 
The other lakes are all much smaller, and most of them are shallow. 
The northeast portion of the county was originally very poorly 
drained and largely occupied by marshes, and although there is still 
some wet ground, surface ditches and tiling have helped to bring 
much of the land under cultivation. Locally there are small marshes 
in poorly drained depressions in the moraine. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Valley alluvium occurs to some extent along the banks of Yellow 
and Tippecanoe rivers. In the Yellow River valley the deposits range 
in width from one-fourth mile to almost nothing in the vicinity of 
Bremen. Along the west edge of the county there is a sand plain 
which was formerly the bed of a lake. Locally small dunes of wind- 
blown sand occur in the moraine near the old lake bed, and the sand 
in some places is still moving. 

The surface of the entire eastern half of the county has more or less 
stratified gravel and sand. This covers the till and is so intermingled 
with it that the area has been classified by Mr. Leverett (PL I) as 
gravelly till and will be described under this heading. 

All the types of alluvium mentioned are found either on flat plains 
of incomplete or sluggish drainage or in the valley lowlands. In 
either situation wells are easily obtained. Driven wells, 10 to 25 feet 
deep, are common, and the yield is abundant for ordinary domestic or 
farm uses. Such a well can often be sunk in a few hours and at a very 
small cost. 

Morainal drift covers much of the west half of the county, and small 
areas in the east half. For successful driven or drilled wells in the 
moraine it is necessary to sink to open beds of gravel or coarse sand, 
and as these occur irregularly, they may be near the surface or con- 
siderably below it. As a rule the water table in the moraine is 
farther from the surface than on the plains, owing to the greater 
relief, and thus requires wells of greater depths. Where open beds 
are struck, however, the waters are abundant and pure. Artesian 
wells occur at many points in the moraine and are described below. 

The till plains are found in the east half and the northwest corner 
of the county. A few deep borings have shown over 200 feet of till, 
and this is probably about the average thickness, exclusive of the 
overlying deposits. The till extends uninterruptedly below the 
moraines and the alluvial beds. Near the surface an unusual amount 
of gravel and sand is incorporated with and overlies the till, and this 
condition holds throughout the county. 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 189 

The till plains of this county are particularly favored by the abun- 
dance and availability of their underground waters. Wells range 
from 15 to 40 feet in depth and generally pass through thin layers 
of sand and till into gravel. Driven wells are commonly used and 
are very satisfactory, affording good protection from surface pollution. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

Area 64 (PL IV) includes the valley of Yellow River for some dis- 
tance above and below Plymouth, and although the valley is here 
scarcely more than one-eighth of a mile in width, twenty or thirty 
flowing wells have been obtained in it. All the flowing waters have 
been reached in gravels, but below the valley alluvium, for it is neces- 
sary to go through till to reach artesian waters. Flows have been 
obtained at various depths. At the old grist mill a gravel bed at a 
depth of only 28 feet yields strong flows. The wells at the water- 
works procured artesian waters at depths of 50 to 60 feet and between 
125 and 200 feet, and the volume of flow varies greatly from season to 
season. The head of the waters is from the surrounding moraine and 
the source can not be more than a few miles from the wells. Analyses 
of the waters from several wells in Plymouth are given in the table on 
pages 194-195. 

Area 65 (PI. IV) forms a narrow belt along the north and east shores 
of Lake Maxinkuckee. The flows all occur along the lowlands not 
more than 25 feet above the level of the lake, and as the moraine rises 
rather abruptly from the shores, the artesian belt is of small extent. 
Perhaps the best flows have been obtained at Culver Military Acad- 
emy, just north of the town of Culver. There are about a dozen flowing 
wells on the grounds, each of which discharges 10 to 50 gallons or more 
per minute. The wells are 10 to 50 feet deep and the head is about 6 
feet above the surface. The artesian waters are obtained in gravel 
underlying clayey drift. 

In other places within this artesian area the flows are obtained at 
depths of 15 to 200 feet, and all have about the same head. The 
gravel beds in which the waters are under pressure probably come to 
the surface somewhere in the higher parts of the moraine, and the 
water that enters there acquires sufficient head in moving downward 
toward the lake to flow from wells that penetrate to it. No flows can 
be expected on ground more than 20 to 25 feet above lake level. 

Area 66 (PL IV) includes a narrow belt of land running south and 
east from Donaldson along the foot of the moraine area. Several 
flowing wells have been obtained in gravel below pebbly clay at depths 
of 30 to 75 feet. The flows are rather weak, and yield only a few 
gallons per minute. 

Area 67 (PL IV) has a situation similar to that of area 66, and 
these two may prove to be continuous. The conditions of flow are 



190 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

furnished by gravel beds in the moraine, which dip to the west 
below impervious clay beds. In the vicinity of Teegarden these 
gravel beds extend out beneath the gravelly plain, and nearly every 
household in that village has a flowing well. The head is commonly 
only a foot or two above ground, and some wells will flow only 
in the cellars below the level of the surface. The strongest well in the 
village (No. 19 in the table, p. 193) has a head 8 feet above ground 
and flows about 6 gallons per minute at that height. The common 
depth for wells is 30 to 50 feet, although some are deeper. A continua- 
tion of this flowing-well area extends westward from Teegarden along 
Yellowbank Creek, and along this valley flows have been obtained 
from gravel below till, at depths of 50 to 100 feet. 

The valley of Yellow River near Bremen and for several miles below 
it (PL IV, No. 68) has furnished a number of flowing wells. At Bremen 
the water in a few wells rises to the surface and flows a little in 
wet seasons, and other wells to the southwest flow constantly, though 
none yield a large volume. The water is found in gravel below 
glacial clay at depths of 50 to 75 feet. 

Several flowing wells are reported from the lowlands between Argos 
and Tippecanoe (PI. IV, No. 69), the water being obtained from 
gravel beds beneath till. It is probable that the head of the waters is 
from the moraine to the east. The pressure is sufficient to cause 
flows only in favored localities. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Plymouth. — The city of Plymouth owns its excellent water sup- 
ply, taken from flowing wells. The first three wells were drilled about 
1888, and are still in use, and in 1895 nine additional wells were 
drilled. The water from all these is flowing for at least a part of the 
year, and in wet seasons the natural yield is sufficient to supply the 
demands. In dry seasons the yield is less and the requirements are 
greater, so the wells are then pumped by air lift. The early wells 
were from 126 to 196 feet deep, but wells of the later series are all less 
than 60 feet deep. In 1907 it was decided to put in an additional 
deep well, which was sunk in August of that year. It was learned 
at a later date that this well had entered shale, into which it was 
bored for some distance. No adequate supply of water was obtained 
from this material. At the time the town was visited (August 16, 
1907) this well was reported to have penetrated the following mate- 
rials : 

Log of well at city waterworks, Plymouth. 

Feet. 

Clay 9 

Sand and gravel 180 

Clay 23 

Limestone 2 

Shale .............. 107 

Limestone. 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 191 

From the wells the water flows or is pumped by air lift to an under- 
ground reservoir 24 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep. From this it 
is pumped by direct pressure into 8, 6, and 4 inch mains, of which 
7f miles are now in use. There are about 430 service taps and 52 fire 
hydrants, and almost half of the people avail themselves of this supply. 
Records of the city wells are Nos. 15 and 16 in the table on page 193, 
and analyses of the waters are Nos. 16, 17, and 18 in the table on 
pages 194-195. 

There are very few dug wells in Plymouth. Most of the private 
wells are drilled or driven, and 50 feet is the usual depth. Along the 
river valley there are many flowing wells, already described as in area 
64 (p. 189). In the higher parts of town the same waters may be 
obtained, and they are also under artesian pressure, the water stand- 
ing at about the same level as that to which it will rise in the flowing 
wells. The gravel waters are protected above by the impervious 
clay bed, and the supply is excellent. 

Bremen. — At Bremen the waterworks, built by the city in 1893, 
are supplied by five driven wells, 4 and 6 inches in diameter, which 
obtain water from a depth of 60 feet. The water is obtained from 
gravel after sand, clay, and hardpan have been penetrated, and rises 
to about the level of the ground. One well was drilled to shale at 
180 feet, but less water was found at that depth than at the 60-foot 
gravel horizon. The water is forced into a standpipe 104 feet high 
and holding 1,000 barrels, and from this it is distributed by gravity. 
There are about 7 miles of 6, 4, and 2 inch mains and 320 taps. It is 
estimated that 600,000 gallons a clay are used to supply about 75 
per cent of the population. 

Most of the private wells in Bremen are driven, and range from 15 
to 110 feet in depth, with 50 feet as the common depth. In some of 
these the water flows at the surface (area 68, p. 190), while in most 
it stands a short distance below ground. All the water is drawn 
from gravel below clay, and the supply of the deeper wells is protected 
from pollution. 

Argos. — The Argos water system is owned by the city and was 
built in 1897. A single well, 120 feet deep and 6 inches in diameter, 
furnishes the entire supply , which is obtained from a gravel bed beneath 
glacial clay. The principal water-bearing bed was found at a depth of 
80 feet, the water rising within 20 feet of the surface. The water is 
pumped to an 800-barrel underground reservoir, and from this by 
direct pressure into the mains. About 86 taps and 27 fire plugs are 
supplied by 18,800 feet of 6 and 4 inch mains, and 800 barrels of 
water are used per day. Only one-fifth of the people of the town 
use this supply. 

About 80 per cent of the population of Argos use private wells, 
almost all of which are driven and from 20 to 100 feet deep, though 



192 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

most of them strike abundant water in gravel at 30 feet, and this water 
rises within 20 feet of the surface. The driven wells are very satis- 
factory and never fail unless obstructed in some way. 

Bourbon. — The Bourbon waterworks are owned by the Union 
Water, Light, and Power Company and were installed in 1897. 
The water is obtained from two drilled wells, 8 inches in diameter and 
150 feet deep, which reach a gravel bed after penetrating alternating 
layers of sand, till, and gravel. Deep-well pumps are used to lift the 
water into a standpipe 100 feet high and holding 2,100 barrels, and 
the water is distributed from this by gravity. Connections are so 
made that direct pressure can be used in case of fire. Only 70 services 
are supplied by this company, which furnishes water to about one- 
seventh of the people of the town. The average amount pumped daily 
is 1,500 barrels. 

In Bourbon there are a great many private wells, and practically 
all are driven from 16 to 60 feet deep, averaging about 20 feet. 
The head of the water is from 3 to 30 feet below ground. 

Culver. — The town of Culver, on Lake Maxinkuckee, installed a 
public water system in 1907. The stock of the company is owned by 
the town and by individuals, with the understanding that the town is 
to buy all of the stock. Three 4-inch wells have been drilled, and 
the contract has been let for a 6-inch well. The water is obtained 
from a gravel bed 70 feet below ground and rises within 12 feet of 
the surface. A pneumatic pressure tank is used and the water is 
distributed by the expansion of the compressed air in the tank, into 
which the water is forced by a 20-horsepower gasoline engine. Only 
5 taps and 15 fire hydrants had been installed at the time of visit 
(September 23, 1907). 

Drilled wells are the prevailing type in Culver. They are 10 to 
135 feet deep, the average depth being about 70 feet. A few wells in 
the lowlands flow, but most of the town lies on the moraine considerably 
above the lake level, and the waters in few wells rise nearer than 12 
feet to the surface. The waters come from gravel beds in the moraine 
and are good. 

Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in Marshall County, with particulars in regard to their water 
supply: 



MARSHALL COUNTY. 

Other village supplies in Marshall County. 



193 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Head 
above (+) 

or 

below (— ) 

surface. 


Character 


Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


of water 
beds. 


Ayr 


86 
200 
110 


Wells, driven 


Feet. 
40 
30 
15 


Feet. 
100 
90 
80 


Feet. 
60 
50 
60 
20 
25 
40 
100 
25 
40 
30 
30 
15 


Feet. 




Burr Oak 


do 




Do. 




do 


to -15 


Do. 




do 


15 i 30 
12 85 


Do. 




279 
311 
105 
64 
150 
304 
167 
141 


do 




Do. 




do 


40 
80 
20 
35 
20 
17 
15 


50 
140 
50 
50 
40 
145 
20 




Do. 




do 


-10 to- -2^ 
-10 to -15 
+ 8 to - 3 
-10 to -15 
-10 to -15 
- 4 to -10 


Do. 


Rutland 


do 


Do. 


Teegarden 

Tippecanoe 

Tyner 


do 


Do. 


do 


Do. 


Wells, driven and dug 

Wells, dug 


Do. 


Walnut 


Do. 






1 





TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

The two following tables give detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Marshall County and analyses of their waters. The 
last column in each table gives numbers referring to identical wells 
in the other table. 

Records of type wells in Marshall County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


Depth. 


Type. 


c 
p. 

"aj 

C 

3 


•6 


.a 

i_ 

a> 
ta 



1 
P 


aJ 

+1 

$2 


c 

Mi 
09 




CD 

Q 
Ft. 


CO 

3 

e 

a 

■~ 

& 



s 

B 
B 

a 

En 
°F. 




z 

m 
'ot 

>> 

1 
< 


1 


Public supply.... 

do 

do 

Amos Friend 

Public supply 

C. E. Hayes 

Culver Military- 
Academy. 

Charles Johnston. 
Township well... 

Andreas Bros 

D. T. Warnacut.. 

H. Y. Shirk 

Marshall County. 

J. W. Wilson 

Plymouth water- 
works. 
do 

Wm. Zehner 

G. E. Kimmel... 
Jacob Hildebrand 

J. E. Johnson 

Plymouth water- 
works. 




Feet. 
120 
150 
60 
fO 
70 
18 
30- 50 

""50" 
45 


Drilled.. 
...do 

Driven.. 
...do 

Drilled.. 

Driven. . 
...do 

...do 

...do 

do 


In. 

6 
8 
4 and 6 
2 
4 

H 
2 

2* 

U 

n 
n 

4 

2 

6 

2 and 4 

12 

U 


Ft. 

80 


Ft. 
-20 


Gravel 
...do.. 


Gaits. 


1 


?, 


Bourbon 


1501-36 








?, 


3 


60 
60 
70 
18 

"50 

45 
30 
45 
86 

120 

50 
28 
45 
45 
45 




-50 
-12 

+ 
+ 3 


...do.. 








4 


4 


Burr Oak 


...do.. 








5 


5 


...do.. 








7 


6 

7 

8 
9 


do 

do 

Donaldson 

2 miles E. of 

Donaldson. 
Hibbard 


...do.. 

...do.. 

...do.. 
...do.. 




HMOO 
2 




8 
6 

9 


in 


...do.. 








in 


n 


30 ...do 

45 1 rin 




...do.. 








11 


n 





-28 

-20 


+ 

+ 4 
-10 
+- 8 
-10 


...do. . 








i° 


13 

14 

15 

16 


Marshall Coun- 
ty Infirmary. 

Maxinkuckee 

Plymouth 

.....do 

do 

Rutland 

Teegarden 


86 

128 
126-196 

50- 60 
28 
49 
45 
45 
322+ 


Drilled.. 

Driven. . 
Drilled.. 

...do 

...do 

Driven.. 

...do 

...do 

Drilled. 


...do.. 

...do.. 
...do.. 

...do.. 








13 

14 
17 

18 


17 
18 


...do.. 
...do.. 




300 




15 


19 
20 


...do.. 

...do.. 


'213 


6 


5. 


19 

20 


?1 


Plymouth 























46448°— wsp 254—10- 



43 



194 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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196 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

MIAMI COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Miami County occupies the geographic center of the area discussed 
in this report. It is 30 miles long from north to south, and 12 wide, 
except in the southern portion, where a projection extends 4 miles 
to the east. The area is 375 square miles, and the population in 1900 
was 28,344, or 75 to the square mile. Peru, the county seat, is 68 
miles north of Indianapolis. 

All of the area which does not lie in the valleys of the larger streams 
is classed as uplands, though the large streams and their branching 
tributaries have done much to dissect the plain. The surface slopes 
from both the north and south portions of the county toward Wabash 
River, which, at the west county line, is about 640 feet above sea 
level. The highest point is at the north edge, with an elevation of 
about 880 feet, making a total range in the county of about 250 feet. 

Wabash River, which, with its tributaries, receives all the surface 
drainage from the county, crosses it centrally from east to west, and 
has a deep, broad valley, with a wide flood plain. At Peru the valley 
floor is H miles broad and is more than 100 feet below the divide 
between Wabash and Eel rivers. There are rock outcrops along the 
lower valley on the south side of the river, but most of the deep- 
ening has been in the unconsolidated deposits. 

Eel River, which joins the Wabash at Logansport, crosses the north 
half of Miami County in a northeast-southwest direction. Its valley 
is well developed but is neither so deep nor so broad as that of the 
Wabash. 

Mississinewa River enters from the east to join the Wabash above 
Peru. The valley is narrow and canyon-like, 100 feet deep in places, 
and rock outcrops along the sides show that the stream has cut its 
channel 30 feet into the limestone. 

Big Pipe Creek and Deer Creek cross the south portion of the 
county, and, with their tributaries, afford good drainage to the pla- 
teau. The valleys are much shallower than those of the three rivers 
mentioned above. 

Miami County is almost devoid of natural lakes or marshes. 
This is rather remarkable when account is taken of the fact that its 
north end lies on a great moraine ridge which in the counties farther 
north and east is dotted with lakes. The well-developed drainage 
of this moraine by Eel River and its tributaries is, in part, the cause 
of this absence of poorly drained areas. 



MIAMI COUNTY. 197 

GEOLOGY AXD GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The deposits of valley alluvium are of considerable importance, 
especially along the Wabash Valley. Here the gravels form not only 
the present flood plain of the river, but the extensive terraces above 
it. The city of Peru lies on the lowest terrace, and there are remnants 
of another terrace 30 feet above this one. On the flood plain at Peru 
the alluvium is from 15 to 25 feet thick; on the higher terrace it is 
much deeper, because of both the greater elevation above the stream 
and the sloping rock surface, which here dips to the north. Wells in 
the valley east and west of Peru have penetrated 40 to 60 feet of 
gravel. There are alluvial beds of some importance along the vaUVvs 
of Eel and Mississinewa rivers and Big Pipe Creek, but they are all 
of smaller area and in general are thinner than the deposits of the 
Wabash Valley. The alluvium everywhere yields abundant water, 
and hundreds of wells are supplied by it. In sparsely settled districts 
these wells may be good, but in towns the waters from alluvium 
are liable to pollution, as surface drainage readily enters the porous 
material. Peru has a great many wells in alluvium, the shallow 
wells being particularly dangerous. Large numbers of cesspools 
drain into the gravel, and liquid matter from them finds its way to 
shallow wells. 

That portion of the county which lies north of Eel River is almost 
entirely occupied by a broad moraine belt (PL I). There is also a 
small strip of this moraine between Wabash and Eel rivers, and 
another belt extends into the west and southwest part of the county. 
The topography of the main moraine belt is characteristic, the sur- 
face consisting of irregular knolls of sandy or gravelly drift or of the 
typical pebbly clay. The outlying moraine areas are similar but of 
a milder type. In the moraines water-bearing gravels or coarse sands 
are usually encountered at depths of 30 to 60 feet, although in some 
wells it is necessary to go deeper. The presence of impervious clay 
above the water-bearing bed is a guaranty against the commoner 
forms of contamination, and the waters, though hard, are always cool 
and palatable. Some dug wells obtain less desirable supplies by seep- 
age from the clays near the surface. 

The two principal till-plain areas, one of which lies between Wabash 
and Eel rivers and the other in the east and southeast parts of the 
county (PL I), were continuous before Wabash River cut its valley 
through them. The till is everywhere less than 100 feet thick south of 
the Wabash Valley, but is deeper to the north. Many wells 200 feet 
deep have failed to reach rock, and one well pierced over 300 feet of 
unconsolidated material. 



198 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Most wells in the till are dug and supply small quantities of water. 
Drilled wells that penetrate to considerable depths are becoming more 
and more common, and these are sunk to beds of gravel; and in the 
south half of the county many wells go through the till into the rock 
below. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Throughout this entire county the surface deposits are immediately 
underlain by limestones of Silurian age. The term " Niagara" is 
commonly applied to all these limestones, though undoubtedly the 
younger limestone, the Kokomo ( u water lime"), which outcrops at 
Kokomo, is present in part of the area. Well drillers do not distin- 
guish between the two formations. There are many rock wells south 
of Peru and a few north of that city, all of which furnish abundant 
water obtained in the fractured upper portion of the formation or in 
openings in the body of the rock. Some of the openings are several 
inches in diameter, as shown by the way in which the drill will drop 
when openings are struck. Analyses of rock waters from various 
localities are given in the table on pages 203-204. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

Artesian area 70 (PI. IV) includes a belt in the north part of Peru, 
the first terrace above the Wabash River flood plain, where several 
wells flow in small volume. At the factory of the Peru Canning Com- 
pany are five drilled wells 67 feet deep, the water bed being a stratum 
of gravel. The wells flow at the surface when not pumped, but when 
in use the head of these wells and of all others in the neighborhood is 
lowered below the surface. 

Flowing wells occur along Wabash River a few miles west of Peru. 
(PL IV, No. 71.) The largest of these wells, on the farm of G. M. 
Tillett, generally known as the " Flowing Well farm/' was drilled 
for gas. The important flow of water is from the " Niagara" lime- 
stone and was reached 90 feet below the surface. When drilled 
the well was cased through this limestone, and salt water from the 
" Trenton" limestone rose within 4 feet of the well mouth. The 
casing was later pulled, and an analysis of the water (No. 20, p. 204) 
shows that the " Trenton" water does not enter into the present flow 
to a noticeable extent. This well was capped down to 1^ inches, from 
which opening the water rises 22 feet above the surface. The force of 
the water lifted the pipe 14 inches out of the ground in two years, but 
when the cap was removed, the pipe settled back in two days. It 
now flows 600 gallons per minute. The "drive pipe is 44 feet long and 
reaches to the limestone. The following materials were penetrated 
by this well: 



MIAMI COUNTY. 199 

Log of flowing well on farm of G. M. Tillett, near Peru. 

Feet. 

Clay and gravel 44 

Limestone 420 

Shale 425 

Trenton limestone 12 

901 

There are several other flowing wells within a few miles, but none 
of them approaches this one in volume of flow. 

Area 72 (PI. IV) includes the lowlands in the vicinity of Deedsville. 
Here there are a few wells that flow continuously and several more 
that flow only in wet seasons. All the flows have been obtained from 
gravel beds in the moraine at depths of 30 to 60 feet. An analysis 
of the water from one of these wells is given in the table on page 203. 

Area 73 (PL IV) includes the valley of a small creek west of Bunker 
Hill. The artesian waters come from the limestone, which here lies 
comparatively close to the surface, and the wells are drilled into the 
rock. One well flows at 8 feet above ground and yields about 4 
gallons per minute. An analysis of the water is No. 1 in the table on 
page 203. 

Flowing wells occur along the valley of Deer Creek and one of its 
tributaries. (PI. IV, No. 74.) At Miami the limestone from which 
the artesian waters come is reached at a depth of 35 to 40 feet but is 
somewhat deeper in the valley to the east. The best wells are about 
100 feet deep, and the water, of good quality, has everywhere a tem- 
perature of about 52° F. The wells flow somewhat more copiously in 
wet seasons than at other times. 

Driven wells in the creek bottom south of Santa Fe have obtained 
flows at shallow depths (PL IV, No. 75) from gravel in the till. The 
yield is small and the conditions for flows are very local. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Peru. — The public water system of Peru is owned by the city and 
was installed in 1878, the water being drawn in part from wells and 
in part from Wabash River. Fourteen wells, situated on the south 
side of the river and above the city, are in use; they are 8 inches in 
diameter and about 350 feet in average depth. The water is drawn 
from the " Niagara" limestone and is good, though rather high in salt 
from the intrusion of the salty " Trenton" rock waters from poorly 
plugged gas wells. The wells furnish about 75 per cent of the water 
used, the remainder being pumped directly from Wabash River. 
The river receives sewage from Wabash, Huntington, and other 
towns above, and this impure water is mixed with the well water and 
contaminates the whole supply. At the time the city was visited 
it was having another well drilled, and enough wells are to be sunk 
in the near future to furnish all the water. 



200 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

The water from the wells and the river is pumped to a reservoir 93 
feet higher than the pumping station and having a capacity of 
1.200,000 gallons. It is distributed by gravity to 24 miles of mains 
and 1,765 taps. About 1,300.000 gallons daily are needed to supply 65 
per cent of the inhabitants. For fixe protection the river water is 
pumped by direct pressure into the mains. 

Large numbers of private wells, mostly driven or drilled, are in 
use in Peru. The depth to limestone ranges from to 100 feet, and 
the wells obtain water from either the rock or the alluvial gravels. 
Near the river rock wells are common, but the rock surface becomes 
lower to the north, and the thicker gravels furnish driven wells with 
plentiful water. The rock waters are good, as are those from the deep 
gravels, but shallow gravel wells are dangerous and should be aban- 
doned. A deep boring for oil just south of the city limits gives the 

following section: 

Log of deep boring at Peru. 

Feet. 

Drift 10 

Water lime and Niagara limestone 455 

Clinton (?) limestone 15 

Hudson River and Utica 449 

Trenton limestone 27 

956 

Converse. — The town of Converse owns its own public water system. 
which is supplied by a drilled well 8 inches in diameter and 240 feet 
deep. The well penetrated 192 feet into the limestone, and the water 
rises within 10 feet of the surface. An analysis of this water is Xo. 3 
in the table on page 203. From the well the water is pumped by 
steam to a tank 72 feet high and holding 1.000 barrels, from which it 
is distributed by gravity. There are about 2 miles of 8, 6, and 4 
inch mains, and 60 per cent of the people require 200.000 gaUons per 
day. The water is pure and wholesome. 

The private wells of Converse are dug. driven, and drilled, and 
range from 10 to 200 feet deep, though 60 feet is the average depth. 
The water stands about 10 feet below the surface, and the wells 
never fail. Limestone is entered at depths of 45 to 50 feet, and 
much of the water is obtained from the rock. 

Denver. — Denver has no public water supply, and each family has 
a private well. These are almost all driven wells, from 10 to 60 feet 
deep, and though the average depth is only about 25 feet the supply 
is abundant. The driven wells penetrate gravel beds in the glacial 
deposits, and the limestone that is encountered at 45 to 100 feet below 
ground has always furnished plentiful supplies of water to the drilled 
wells that have gone into it. 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 254. 



MIAMI COUNTY. 



201 



Bunker Hill. — Bunker Hill lies on a belt of low morainal drift. 
The wells are driven, drilled, or dug, and the common source of supply 
is the limestone, which is here encountered at 65 to 83 feet below the 
surface. The driven wells obtain gravel waters from shallow depths 
and are in constant danger of pollution from the cesspools of the town. 
The gravel wells are comparatively safe, but the rock wells are best 
protected from contamination, and the water is of excellent quality. 

Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in Miami County, with particulars in regard to their water 
supply: 

Other village supplies in Miami County. 



Town. 



Am boy 

Bennetts Switch. 
Chili 



Courter. . . 
Deedsville . 



Loree 
Macy . 



McGrawsville . 
Miami 



Nead. 



North Grove. 
Perrysburg. . . 



Pettysville. 
Reserve 



Santa Fe. 
Wagoner. 



Wawpekong. 
West Peru. . 



Popu- 
lation 
(1600). 



402 
133 
245 



112 

30 
314 

40 
244 

21 

316 



92 

105 

205 



Source. 



Wells, drilled 

and dug. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, drilled 

and dug. 

do 

Wells, driven, 

drilled, and 

dug. 
Wells, drilled 

and dug. 
Wells, drilled, 

driven, and 

dug. 
Wells, drilled 

and dug. 
Wells, driven, 

dug, 

drilled 
Wells, 

drilled 

dug. 
Wells, drilled... 
Wei Is, driven, 

dug, and 

drilled. 
Wells , driven . . 
Wells, drilled 

and dug; and 

springs. 
Wells, drilled 

and dug. 
Wells, drilled, 

driven, and 

dug. 
Wells, drilled.. 
Wells, driven 

and drilled. 



and 



bored, 
and 



Depth to rock. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 

above (+) 
or be- 
low (-) 
surface. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


Feet. 
20 


Feet. 
45 


Feet. 
25 


Feet. 
14-45 


Feet. 

- 8 


15 

18 

20 
10 


96 

80 

110 
65 


20 

05 

80 
30 


72 








-15 to -25 
+ 2 to — 


20 


120 


100 


SO 


-20 to -30 


20 


230 


110 




-20 to -40 


20 


no 


100 




-18 


8 


105 


10 


36 


- 8 


20 


105 




85 




80 
20 


100 
156 


85 
50 


70 


- 8 


40 
20 

14 


75 
205 

110 


60 
100 

100 


~""<M>6' 
70-80 


-30 




15 

100 
10 


170 

130 
130 


100 

110 
12 






79-95 
20 


-14 





Character of 
water beds. 



Limestone. 

Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel. 

Do. 
Do. 



Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel. 



G ravel and lime- 
stone. 
Do. 



Do. 



Limestone. 
Gravel. 



Do. 
Limestone. 



Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Sand and gravel. 



Limestone. 
Gravel and lime- 
stone. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two following tables contain detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Miami County and analyses of their waters. The 
numbers in the last column of each table refer to identical wells in 
the other table. 



202 U^DEEGEOrXD WATERS of nobih-cextbae ixdiaxa. 



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204 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 205 

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

St. Joseph County is in the extreme northwest corner of the area 
under consideration, its north boundary being formed by the Indiana- 
Michigan state line. It has an area of 460 square miles, and had in 
1900 a population of 58,881, more than half of which was in South 
Bend, the county seat. The average population per square mile 
was 128. 

The county has a topography of great diversity, and the uplands, 
which in most counties include the greater part of the area, are here 
of small extent as compared with the lowlands, which occupy almost 
half of the surface. The uplands include only those areas mapped 
as moraine or till (PL I), and are confined to the southeast corner of 
the county and to scattered areas along the north edge. The small 
moraine-covered districts north of Kankakee River and east of the 
St. Joseph and the district extending south and east from South Bend 
have the rolling, somewhat irregular surface characteristic of moraines, 
though the till-covered portions are flat. The lower valleys of St. 
Joseph and Kankakee rivers are less than 700 feet above sea level, 
but the till plain in the southeast corner rises to more than 850 feet, 
giving a range in elevation in the county of over 150 feet. 

There is a low flat area west of South Bend, on both sides of Kan- 
kakee River, that was once the bed of a lake. Much of the former 
lake bed is marsh, and although artificial drainage has resulted in the 
reclamation of a part of it, there is still an extensive marsh north of 
Kankakee River. The valley of St. Joseph River is also a broad 
belt of lowlands several miles wide. 

St. Joseph River, the most important stream of the county, enters 
from the east, and flowing west to South Bend there turns sharply 
north into Michigan. The valley is several miles wide, and during 
the retreat of the last glacier was filled with alluvial gravels. The 
stream now occupies a narrow valley which it has cut into the 
gravels. The river has no important tributaries in this county. 

Kankakee River heads in the Kankakee marsh within a few miles 
of the St. Joseph, and the divide between the two drainage systems 
is a low inconspicuous gravel flat. Kankakee River has a low 
gradient through its marshy basin. 

The plain east of the Maxinkuckee moraine is drained by small 
streams which are tributary to Yellow River. 

In the west half of the county are many small lakes of two dis- 
tinct types. Those of one type, in the old Lake Kankakee bed, are 
shallow and bordered by marshes, and the basins were formed by 
the unequal accumulation of organic deposits in the marsh; those of 
the other type, in kettles or depressions in the moraine, are surrounded 
by low hills of glacial drift and are less marshy. 



206 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

An important belt of alluvium, 2 miles or more in width, lies along 
the St. Joseph River valley. The valley is filled with this material 
to a great depth, and the river has now intrenched itself in its own 
deposits which lie as broad terraces on either side. The lake-bed 
deposits of the Kankakee marsh are sands and gravels, but are finer 
and more perfectly stratified than the stream-laid materials and 
the sands form a larger proportion of their entire thickness. A 
third class of alluvium, found as outwash aprons beyond the edges 
of some of the moraines (PI. I), overlies till plains or alluvial beds 
of river origin and is thickest near the moraines and thins out away 
from them. 

All the alluvial beds are good water bearers. Shallow driven 
wells are much used, and the water, though in places of doubtful 
sanitary quality, is abundant and well suited for industrial purposes. 
The wells are easily polluted by drainage from cesspools or from the 
surface, as there is rarely a protecting bed of clay above. 

The distribution of the moraines in the county is shown in Plate I, 
and the topography is of the irregular hill and hollow type char- 
acteristic of such deposits, though the relief is not great. The 
moraines were deposited on top of till, and their thickness is deter- 
mined in few places, as well drillers fail to recognize the transition 
from moraine to the underlying glacial deposits. Many shallow dug 
wells are in use in the moraines, water being obtained from the clayey 
drift. Other drilled and driven wells penetrate to water-bearing 
gravel beds, which are found as deep as 100 feet below the surface. 
These wells are free from surface drainage and furnish excellent 
water, but the shallow wells are undesirable on account of the 
likelihood of contamination. 

The till plain which occupies southeastern St. Joseph County is 
level and featureless. The till is continuous between the other 
surface deposits and the rock throughout the county, though it 
covers only one-fourth of the surface. Its thickness has been deter- 
mined at only a few points, but probably averages about 200 feet. 
Many dug wells get small supplies of water from the till itself or 
enter gravel in the till at depths of 30 feet or less. If gravels are 
found the supply is plentiful, though as readily subject to pollution 
as the water from other open wells. Deeper gravels can as a rule 
be found by sinking tubular wells, which shut out the objectionable 
surface waters. These gravels afford the best available source of 
water in the till areas. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

Artesian area 76 (PI. IV) includes the lowlands near St. Joseph 
River in South Bend and somewhat north of that city. The waters 
in a wider belt are under artesian pressure, but flows occur only on 



ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 207 

the low ground close to the stream. The best known of the flowing 
wells are at the two city pumping stations. The central station has 
35 wells, all from 112 to 116 feet deep, and the flowing water comes 
from a gravel bed below till; at the north station there are 34 
flowing wells, the water in which is doubtless from a continuation of 
the same gravel bed that supplies the wells at the central station, 
but this bed is only 87 feet below ground. The head of the wells at 
both stations is sufficient to cause flows when the pumps are idle, 
but when they are in operation the water stands considerably below 
the well mouth. At the central station the heavier pumping reduces 
the head of the waters for some distance in all directions, as shown 
by other wells supplied from the same gravel bed. The new wells 
at the plant of the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company, 200 
yards from the pumping station and across the river from it, are 
influenced by the pumping of the city wells, and the head of the 
waters in them varies from +2 to —2 feet, according to the amount 
pumped from the wells across the river. The effect on surrounding 
wells is less marked at the north station, as the natural head of the 
waters is greater. A well in the park less than 100 yards from the 
city wells flowed 150 gallons per minute at a height of 8 feet above 
the ground at a time when the city pumps were at work. Flows 
have been obtained in the river valley as far north as St. Mary's 
Academy. 

Area 67 (PL IV), described in part for Marshall County (p. 189), 
contains many flowing wells east and southeast of North Liberty. 
Eight flows are reported from a single farm. The wells are all on 
low ground, and the flowing waters come from a gravel bed at a 
depth of 60 to 80 feet, the head being from the moraine to the east. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

South Bend. — The city of South Bend owns and operates its pub- 
lic waterworks, the water being drawn from about 70 drilled wells 
(area 76). There are two pumping stations, one of which, the cen- 
tral station, is on the river bank near the center of the city. The 
wells here are 112 to 116 feet deep and 4 to 10 inches in diameter. 
The pumping at this station is done either by water power from St. 
Joseph River or by steam. The north station, near the river at the 
north edge of the city, is supplied by about 34 drilled wells 6 to 10 
inches in diameter and 87 feet deep. These wells also flow when the 
pumps are not running. Steam pumps are used at this station. 

The water from both sets of wells is forced into a standpipe 225 
feet high and holding 33,000 gallons. It is distributed from this 
standpipe by gravity. There are 80 miles of mains 4 to 24 inches in 
diameter, and 7,000 taps supply about 75 per cent of the people of 
the city. The average daily pump of the central station is 2,500,000 
gallons, and of the north station 2,820,000 gallons. The capacity 



208 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

of the two stations is 14,000,000 gallons per day, but the wells 
will not furnish this amount of water, and new wells were being 
drilled at the central station in the fall of 1907. The city has also 
purchased 5 acres of land near the river, one-half mile below the 
north station, and it is planned to install an additional pumping 
station at this place. Analyses of water from the city wells are 
Nos. 12, 17, and 18 in the table on pages 213-214. 

A great many private wells are in use in South Bend, both for 
domestic and industrial purposes. The town is located on a broad 
alluvial flat, and abundant water can everywhere be obtained by 
dug or driven wells at shallow depths. Most wells for family use 
are driven, averaging about 30 feet deep, and in these the water is 
abundant, but all analyses show much organic matter, and the pres- 
ence of sewage in the upper-gravel waters is almost inevitable, as 
there is no protective covering of clay. The waters should never be 
used for domestic purposes. For manufacturing uses the waters are 
very satisfactory, although rather hard. Large quantities are obtained 
by building large, loosely curbed dug wells. A much safer water 
may usually be obtained from gravel at depths of 60 to 80 feet, 
beneath a layer of clay. A combination dug and drilled well at 
the Studebaker plant gave the following section: 

Section of combination well at Studebaker plant, South Bend. 

Feet. 

Sand and gravel 32 

Coarse gravelly sand 8 

Coarse sand, finer than that above 12 

Rather fine angular sand 5 

Coarse gravelly sand 4 

Fine sand : 4 

Sandy blue clay 11 

Fine blue clay 14 

Fine quicksand 4 

Sandy gravel 9 

103 

A deep gas well near that given above penetrated the following 
materials : 

Section of deep gas well, South Bend. a 

Feet. 

Drift 160 

Subcarboniferous and Hamilton shale 220 

Corniferous limestone 60 

Lower Helderberg limestone 40 

Niagara limestone , 640 

Clinton (?) limestone 60 

Hudson River and Utica 420 

Trenton limestone 427 

2,027 

^Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 260. 



ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 209 

Mishawdka. — Mishawaka lies on the gravel terrace above St. 
Joseph River, about 4 miles east of South Bend. The waterworks 
are owned' by the city, and the supply taken from St. Joseph River 
is pumped by direct pressure into 17 miles of mains and 1,550 service 
taps. About two- thirds of the people use this water and require an 
average of 2,000,000 gallons per day. 

The river water is very badly polluted, and few people use it for 
drinking. It receives all the sewage from Elkhart, Goshen, and 
other towns, besides much local pollution, and in its raw state is unfit 
for a city supply. The water could be greatly improved by the 
installation of a filter system such as is used at Indianapolis, Anderson, 
and other cities in this State. 

There has been some discussion in Mishawaka as to the possibility 
of obtaining an artesian water supply such as is used in South Bend. 
Independent investigations of the underground water resources of 
this city were undertaken in 1906 by George C. Matson, of this 
Survey, and by the writer, and the same conclusions were reached by 
both. It is apparent that the coarse gravel bed which furnishes the 
water at South Bend becomes more and more sandy to the east, and 
beneath the terrace south of Mishawaka it is replaced by fine sand. 
The water in this sand is under sufficient artesian pressure to carry it 
within 15 or 20 feet of the surface, but the fineness of the material 
prevents its ready flow into the well, and the yield of wells in it will 
be small. 

A well which was drilled at the brewery of Kamm & Schellinger in 
1906 reached a depth of 723 feet without getting a good water supply. 
Some sulphur water was obtained near the bottom of the well, but 
this was not satisfactory and the well was abandoned. The following 
materials were penetrated: 

Section of drilled ivell at Kamm & Schellinger brewery, Mishawaka. 

Feet. 

Sand, gravel, and clay; little water, .but some at 125 feet 130 

Blue shale; no water 240 

Limestone; some sulphur water near bottom 353 

723 

This company also drilled three test wells in the marsh one-half 
mile south of the brewery, but obtained little water. South and 
east of this town deep wells have been more successful. At the 
Dodge Manufacturing Company's plant there are five 6-inch wells, 
45 to 60 feet deep, in a coarse gravel, which will yield 250 gallons 
per minute each. At the National Veneer Products Company's 
factory a single 6-inch well, 67 feet deep, will yield 500 gallons per 
minute. Analyses of both of these waters are Nos. 2 and 4 in the 
table on page 213. 

46448°— wsp 254—10 14 



210 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF XORTH-CEXTRAL INDIANA. 

The best available source of supply for Mishawaka, therefore, is 
from wells drilled south and east of the town. A large tract of land 
could be obtained around the wells, and proper precautions taken to 
prevent contamination of the water from sewage. If enough wells 
were drilled and they were placed as far apart as possible, there is 
every reason to believe that an adequate and desirable supply of 
well water could be obtained for the city. 

The private wells of Mishawaka, from which the entire supply of 
drinking water is drawn, are almost all driven wells, which range in 
depth from 10 to 90 feet, and most of which end in gravel at a depth 
of 40 feet. The water rises within 2 to 20 feet of the surface. The 
wells furnish a somewhat safer and certainly a more palatable water 
than that furnished by the city system. The shallow wells, however, 
are almost certain to be more or less polluted when located in a thickly 
settled district. There is no protective bed of clay above the water- 
bearing gravel, and objectionable liquid matter of all kinds enters the 
ground in large quantities and becomes a part of the underground 
water supply. The deeper-driven wells are much safer than the 
shallow ones. 

WalJcerton. — The town of TTalkerton built a public water system 
in 1897, and four drilled wells, 30 feet deep and 6 inches in diameter, 
furnish the supply. The wells enter gravel at 15 feet, and the yield 
is sufficient for present demands. A steam pump forces the water to 
a tank, which is 105 feet above ground and holds 1,700 barrels. 
Ordinarily the water is distributed by gravity, but in case of fire a 
higher pressure is obtained by pumping directly into the mains. 
There are about 3 miles of 6 and 4 inch mains and about half the 
people use the water, of which 3,000 barrels per day is pumped. 

For private supplies driven wells are used in TTalkerton to the 
exclusion of other types. These range in depth from 18 to 45 feet, 
the most common depth being 30 feet. The wells are in gravel, and 
the water stands at 15 to 25 feet below the surface. The waters are 
abundant, but all sewage of the town goes into the ground and the 
shallow wells are naturally the most easily polluted. It can be said 
that, in a general way, the deeper a well is the less likely it is to 
receive sewage from above. There are no impervious clay beds to 
protect the upper gravel waters. 

New Carlisle. — The Xew Carlisle public water supply is owned by 
the town, and the water is taken from four drilled wells 118 feet 
deep and 5 inches in diameter. The town lies on the slopes of a 
moraine ridge and on the edge of the alluvial plain below, and the 
wells are near the base of the moraine slope. They penetrate to a 
gravel bed below blue clay and obtain abundant water of fine 
quality. A shallow dug well, 20 feet in diameter and 29 feet deep, 



ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 



211 



has been built for use in emergencies, but the deep wells have 
so far supplied enough water for all purposes. The water is pumped 
to a tank located 85 feet above the pumps and holding 33,000 gallons, 
and is distributed by gravity to 2| miles of mains. Almost every 
family south of the railroad uses this water, though no mains have 
been laid north of it. Analyses of the city water are Nos. 5 and 6 
in the table on page 213. 

The few private wells in town, almost all of which are in the gravel 
plain north of the railroad, are of the driven type, and 20 feet is a 
usual depth. The water is from gravel and is plentiful, but because 
of the openness of the gravels and the abundance of private cess- 
pools and other possible sources of contamination the sanitary 
conditions are unsafe. 

North Liberty. — North Liberty has no public supply. The town 
lies on an alluvial plain, and each family owns a driven well, usually 
from 35 to 60 feet in depth, in which the water stands within 12 to 15 
feet of the surface. The wells enter a gravel bed, and overlying clay 
beds are thin or altogether wanting. The supply is plentiful, and 
the deeper wells are good, especially when clay is penetrated above 
the water-bearing bed. Otherwise sewage is likely to enter, and the 
shallow wells in this town are not safe. 

Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in St. Joseph County, with particulars regarding their water 
supply : 

Other village supplies in St. Joseph County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Depth 
to rock. 


Head 
below 
surface. 




Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


water beds. 


Crumstown 

Granger 

Hamilton 


100 
67 

""'350' 
100 
177 


Wells, driven 

do 


Feet. 
10 
25 
10 
30 
20 
25 
10 
10 
90 
20 

18 


Feet. 
25 
50 
30 
85 
75 
30 
22 
30 
113 
110 

120 


Feet. 
20 
28 
18 
50 
40 
27 
18 
18 
100 
100 

100 


Feet. 
133 


Feet. 

6-10 

25 


Gravel. 
Do. 


do 

do 


Gravel and sand. 






10-20 


Gravel. 




do 


Do. 




do 




22 
6 


Do. 


Polan Town 


do 


Do. 






do 


Gravel and sand. 






do 




80 


Gravel. 


Woodland 


90 
170 


Wells, driven and 

dug. 
do 


Do. 


Wyatt 




4-20 


Do. 









212 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two following tables give detailed information regarding typi- 
cal wells in St. Joseph County, and analyses of their waters. The 
numbers in the last column of each table refer to identical wells in 
the other table. 



Records of typical wells in St. Joseph County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 




Type. 


u 

-2 

c 

1 

03 
P 


0) 

03 

ft 
a> 

A 


Head above 
( + ) or be- 
low (-) 
surface. 


Water- 
bearing 
materials. 


o 

CD 

A 


6 

a 

< 


1 




Alexander Moore 

Dodge Manufac- 
turing Co. 

Kamm & Schel- 
linger. 

Public well 

Mishawaka 
Woolen Manu- 
facturing Co. 

National Veneer 
Products Co. 

Public supply... 

Robert Jimison. 

Notre Dame 
University. 

St. Mary's Acad- 
emy. 

L. S. Crull 

Public supply... 

Do 


Lakeville 

Mishawaka 

do 

Mishawaka, 
corner Main 
and Second 
streets. 

Mishawaka 

do 


Feet. 

50 
45-60 

723 

35 

176 

67 

118 
38 
150 

100 

27 
112-116 

87 

40-100 
112 

30 

90 
30 
113 


Driven. . 


Inches. 
2 
6 

6 

1} 

6 

6 
5 

li 

8 

8,6 

li 
4-10 

6-10 

4 

8 


Feet. 

50 

45-60 

125 

35 


Feet. 
-15 
-10 


Gravel., 
do 


Ft. 


1 
2 


3 


Drilled. . 
Driven. . 

Drilled.. 

Driven. . 

Drilled. . 
Driven.. 
Drilled. . 

...do 

Driven. . 
Drilled.. 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Dug 


Sand.... 
Gravel . . 


125 

49 

.... 




4 




3 


^ 






R 


55 

118 
38 
140 

100 

25 
112 

85 

4JM00 
115 

30 
90 

"'in' 


- 3 

-28 
-12 
-25 

-15 to +3 

-22 

+ 2 

+ 8 

-12 
+2 to -2 

- n 

-is' 

-80 


Gravel. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 


4 


7 
8 
9 

10 

11 
12 

13 


New Carlisle. . 
North Liberty 
Notre Dame. . 

do 

Osceola 

South Bend 
(central sta- 
tion). 

South Bend 
(north sta- 
tion). 

South Bend... 

do 

do 


5,6 

7 
8 

9 
17 

18 


14 
15 

16 


Singer Manufac- 
turing Co. 

Indiana & Mich- 
igan Electric 
Co. 

Oliver Chilled 
Plow "Works. 

StudebakerBros 

Public supply... 

J. H. Lydick. . . . 


14 
16 

15 


17 
18 
19 


do 

Walkerton 

Walnut Grove 


Drilled.. 

...do 

Driven. . 


10 
6 
2 


20*21 



ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 



213 



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Material 

in which 

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occurs. 


a> | | ■• ill; 

>o'd do 6 6 6 6c 

g H3 fl -d 'd "O t} fl fl "C 

C5 : : :::::: 


d d do d d 

t3 'd 'd 'd ^d r d 


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ta 

ft 


1907 

1907 

1907 

Sept., 1905 

1907 

1907 

1907 

1907. ...... 

May, 1907 

...do 

Jan., 1905 
Dec, 1903 

1907 

1907 


d 


H. E. Barnard 

H. E. Barnard.... 

do 

Lake Shore and 
Michigan South- 
ern R. R. 

H. E. Barnard 

do 

.....do 

do 

Lake Shore and 
Michigan South- 
ern R. R. 
do 

do 

do 

Dearborn Chemi- 
cal Co. 
H. E. Barnard.... 

do 


o 

d 
o 


Driven well, 50 ft. 

by 2 in. 
Driven wells, 45 to 

60 ft. by 6 in. 
Driven well, 35 ft. 

by 1§ in. 

Driven well, 67 ft. 

by 6 in. 
Drilled well, 118 ft. 

by 5 in. 

Drilled well, 118 ft. 

by 5 in. 
Driven well, 38 ft. 

by 1\ in. 
Drilled well, 150 ft. 

by 8 in. 
Driven well, 27 ft. 

by 1$ in. 
Well, 32 ft. by 20 ft. 

Well, 25 ft. by 3 in.. 

Drilled wells, 87-116 

ft. by 6 in. 
Well 35 ft. by 20 ft.. 
Open well, 35 ft 

Open well, 30 ft. by 

30 ft. 
Drilled well, 112 ft. 

by 8 in. 


d 
.2 

"c3 

o 
o 

.J 


Lakeville 

Mishawaka 

Main and Sec- 
ond streets, 
Mishawaka. 

Mishawaka 

New Carlisle.. 

do 

North Liberty 
Notre Dame . . 


-d : : : : 

a :::::: 

cp ..;■.. 

m :::::: 

r* o o o o o o 
5 -d-d -d-d -d T3 

s :::::: 
o :::::: 

m 


<3 

1 

O 


Alexander Moore 

Dodge Manufacturing 
Co. 


National Veneer Prod- 
ucts Co. 
City supply 

do 

Robert Jimison 

Notre Dame Univer- 
sity. 
L. S. Crull 


Lake Shore and Mich- 
igan Southern R. R. 

Chicago, Indiana and 

Southern R. R. 
City supply 

Studebaker Bros 

Singer Manufacturing 

Co. 
Oliver Plow Company. 

Indiana and Michigan 
Electric Co. 


1 


^H <N C- 


■* «o co t>. oo a 


c: 


tH CM CO Tt* "0 CO 



214 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OP NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 215 

TIPTON COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Tipton County lies in the middle north-south tier of counties in the 
area under discussion and in the third tier from the south edge. Tip- 
ton, the county seat, is 36 miles north of Indianapolis. The county, 
which is rectangular in outline, is 20 miles long and 13 wide, and has 
an area of 260 square miles. . The population in 1900 was 19,116, or 
73 inhabitants to the square mile. 

The county, a typical upland area, lies on the divide between White 
and Wabash rivers, although the watershed is a flat, featureless plain. 
About three-fourths of the surface lies between 850 and 900 feet above 
sea level. Only the valley of Duck Creek, in the southwest corner, 
falls below 850 feet, and in the southwest edge the surface rises some- 
what above 900 feet, the total range in elevation being not more than 
75 feet. 

All of the surface except a small area bordering on Boone and 
Hamilton counties consists of a flat plain with an entire absence of 
hills or of deep valleys. In some places, however, it shows slight 
wavelike undulations, with the crests only 5 or 6 feet above the 
troughs. The morainic areas (PL I) have somewhat greater relief, 
with low knolls and depressions and scattered bowlders, but even 
there the crests of knolls are not many feet above the plain. 

Tipton County includes a portion of the divide between the White 
River and the Wabash drainage systems. Cicero Creek, the most 
important of the tributaries of the White, drains the south-central 
and southwest portions, and at Atlanta lies 20 to 30 feet below the 
general level and has a narrow flood plain, but the valley becomes 
shallower to the north and west until the creek is only a few feet 
below the plain. Polliwog Creek, another tributary of White River, 
drains the southeast corner of the county. 

North of Tipton the drainage belongs to the Wabash system. 
Most of the surface water is carried northeast into Howard County 
by Turkey and Mud creeks, tributaries of Wild Cat Creek, which in 
turn flows westward into Wabash River. All the valleys -of the 
county are shallow and narrow. 

Although the surface everywhere is flat, the drainage is well 
developed and there are no lakes and marshes. Still, in the districts 
where the slope is very slight, it has been found advisable to assist 
the natural drainage by ditches and by underground tilling. As a 
result, the land is nowhere too wet to permit cultivation. 



216 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

Alluvial deposits are of as little extent here as in an} r other county 
in the area. They occur only as narrow and shallow flood-plain 
deposits along the larger streams, and since only the headwaters of 
even these larger streams are found in the county, it follows that 
there has been but little stream deposition and that the alluvium is 
generally unimportant as a source of water. The only valley in which 
the stream deposits have been penetrated by many wells is that of 
Cicero Creek, where some driven wells have found plenty of water at 
shallow depths in the open gravels along the valley floor. 

The moraines of the county are all at its western edge. The larger 
area (PL I) is the north end of the long, low ridge that extends north- 
ward from the vicinity of Indianapolis. It is here not a very important 
topographic feature, but has a little more relief and is slightly more 
rolling than the till plain. There is also a small area of moraine that 
lies mostly in Howard County but extends into the extreme northwest 
corner of Tipton County. It is of the same general topographic 
character as that farther south. 

For a long time shallow dug wells only were used to obtain water 
from the moraine areas, and these were supplied by slow seepage from 
the clay beds. Of late years the tide of public sentiment has turned 
strongly toward deep-driven or drilled wells, which are gradually 
replacing open wells. Many of them penetrate 100 to 200 feet of 
surface materials, and waters are almost everywhere obtained from 
layers of gravel interbedded with the clayey drift. 

The till occupies the surface over a large proportion of the county 
and varies in thickness from 40 to 75 feet along the north and east 
edge to 200 or 300 feet at the south and west edges. The material is 
similar to that of the till wherever found in this area. Dug wells 
still predominate in the till, especially in the places where it is excep- 
tionally thick, and many receive their entire supply from the close- 
grained clay. Such supplies are unsatisfactory, both in regard to 
quantity and quality, and the proportion of drilled wells is increasing. 
If the drilled wells fail to find sufficient water in the till they may be 
continued into the limestone, in which plentiful waters of good quality 
are to be found. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

As shown on Plate III, rocks of two periods underlie the surface 
deposits of Tipton County. The Silurian outcrops are all limestones 
and consist of the "Niagara" formation and the Kokomo limestone 
("water lime"). Above them, and outcropping in the west edge of 
the county, are the lower Devonian beds. The beds all dip at low 
angles to the west and have been worn away by erosion to give the 



TIPTON COUNTY. 217 

present distribution of outcrops below the drift. No rocks appear 
at the surface in this county. 

As stated above, the Kokomo and " Niagara" beds are limestones, 
the former somewhat less massive than the latter. The Silurian 
limestones have been penetrated by wells at a number of points at 
Tipton and eastward. All of these rock wells show large quantities of 
water, and no record was found of wells which failed to get plenty 
of water when the rock was entered. 

The Devonian limestones occur only in the area of very heavy 
drift and have been little exploited for their water. Deep gas 
borings have found good supplies, but these go into the Silurian as 
well as the Devonian rocks. It is probable, however, that the 
Devonian limestones are water bearing here as well as in other places 
where they have been tested, and wells of sufficient depth should be 
successful in these rocks. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

In contrast to the numerous artesian areas in the counties to the 
north and south, there are only two areas in Tipton County in which 
flowing wells are known to occur. This is explained by the position 
of the county on a high level plain and by the shallowness of the 
stream valleys. The head of the flowing waters in the neighboring 
counties is rarely more than 2 or 3 feet above the surface, even in the 
deeper valleys, and the absence of deep valleys in this county leaves 
few areas where the surface is below the level to which the artesian 
waters will rise. 

In the valley of Cicero Creek near Tipton and to the south there 
are a number of flowing wells. (PL IV, No. 77.) All are old gas 
wells which are cased down to rock 3 so that the flowing waters must 
come from the Kokomo limestone ("water lime") or the "Niagara" 
formation. The flows are all small, and some wells which once flowed 
have now failed. The head of the water is but little above the 
surface, and seems gradually to be decreasing. 

Flowing wells occur along the valley of Mud Creek within a few 
miles of Sharpsville. (PI. IV, No. 78.) All are from old gas borings, 
and the water comes from the Silurian limestones. The strongest of 
these, on the farm of Mrs. Hannah Davenport, flows in a lj-inch 
stream. 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Tipton. — The Tipton waterworks are the property of the city, and 
the supply is drawn from fifteen wells, of which five are gravel wells 68 
to 114 feet deep. The water-bearing gravels are well protected from 
pollution from above by a heavy coating of impervious till. The 
rock wells, 10 in number, are 8 inches in diameter, and the gravel 
wells 4 and 6 inches. The water from the wells is forced by air lift 



218 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

to an underground cistern, and from this is pumped by direct pressure 
into the mains. There are 13 miles of mains, 4 to 12 inches in 
diameter, and 900 consumers are supplied. The daily consumption 
of water ranges from 300,000 to 400,000 gallons. 

Many families in Tipton are still supplied from private wells, 
nearly all of which are driven into gravel, which is found at 30 to 60 
feet below the surface. A common depth for them is 55 feet. The 
gravel waters are plentiful, and the deeper wells yield an abundance 
of pure and wholesome water. There are a few water wells that enter 
the limestone, which here lies 165 feet below the surface. Analyses 
of these waters are Nos. 1 to 8 in the table on page 220. / 

Windfall. — Windfall has no public water supply. Each family 
owns a private well and the town relies upon these wells for its water. 
There are many dug wells which are sunk 20 to 30 feet into the till, 
and these are certain to be more or less contaminated, as there is no 
sewerage system in the town and the open privy vaults are as numerous 
as the wells. All the liquid sewage enters the ground and some of it 
ultimately finds its way to the open wells and becomes mixed with 
the water which the people drink. The objectionable- features of the 
dug wells are avoided by deep drilled or driven wells, which go 
through clayey till before entering water-bearing gravels or lime- 
stone. The till acts as a covering to prevent pollution of the deeper 
waters by organic matter from above. In Windfall the limestone is 
reached at a depth of 60 feet, and the pure and abundant rock waters 
furnish the best well supplies. 

Sharpsville. — Sharpsville lies on the till plain near the shallow 
valley of Mud Creek. It has no public waterworks. The private 
wells are dug, drilled, or driven, and range in depth from 12 to 100 feet. 
The shallow dug wells in the clayey till are dangerous for the same 
reasons as those given for the dug wells at Windfall, and they should 
be abandoned as rapidly as possible. Driven wells, to be safe, should 
be sunk through a considerable depth of clay to keep out drainage 
from the surface. The rock wells furnish a fine quality of water and 
give the largest supplies. Limestone is entered at depths of 68 to 
80 feet, and no wells in this rock have been failures. 

Kempton. — The town of Kempton is situated at the west edge of 
the county on the border of a region of low moraine. The limestone 
is here 265 feet below the surface and its depth has prevented the 
utilization of limestone waters as a source of supply for the wells of the 
town, which are all driven or drilled, and enter gravel beneath pebbly 
clay. Most of them reach a gravel bed at a depth of about 34 feet. 
The record of a typical well of this sort is No. 5 in the table on page 219. 
Other wells enter gravel at 80 feet, and a still deeper gravel bed has 
been reached at a depth of 200 feet. The coating of till above even 
the first gravel protects the waters, and all the wells are good. 



TIPTON COUNTY. 



219 



Other communities. — The following table gives a list of other villages 
in Tipton County, with particulars regarding their water supply: 

Other village supplies in Tipton County. 





Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 


Source. 


Depth of wells. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 




Town. 


Least. 


Great- 
est. 


Com- 
mon. 


surlace. water beds. 


Curtis ville 

Ekin 


123 
100 
227 


Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, driven and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 

Wells, drilled 

Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
Wells, dug and 

driven. 
Wells, dug and 

drilled. 
do 


Feet. 
20 

20 

15 

25 
13 

18 

12 

20 

12 

20 


Feet. 
90 

60 

120 

50 
65 

160 

130 

60 

280 

125 


Feet. 
25 

25 

80 

40 

22 

80 

50 

175 

100 


Feet. 
90 

240 


Feet. 
15 

8 


Gravel and lime 

stone. 
Gravel. 




Do. 




120 
180 

90 

40-50 

50 
300 
190 


io" 

10 

8-15 

8 


Do. 


Hobbs 


222 
72 
70 
100 
114 


Do. 


Jackson 

Nevada 


Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Do. 

Limpstone and 


Normanda 


Wells, drilled and 

dug. 
do 


gravel. 
Gravel. 

Do. 











TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 



The two following tables give detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Tipton County and analyses of their waters. The 
numbers in the last column of each table refer to identical wells in 
the other table. 

Records of typical wells in Tipton County. 



No. 


Owner. 


Location. 


5 
& 
P 


Type. 


"S 

1 

5 




03 
£ . 

P 



<» § 

w 


Water-bear- 
ing mate- 
rials. 


M 

O 

(H 

O 

Xi 

& 






a 
< 


1 


Schoolhouse 

Lewis Land 

R. B. Barr 

Sherman Hobbs. . . 

Fred Spencer 

Lenley Coats 

Public well 

Mike Hoffman 


Atlanta 


Feet. 
120 

80 
171 

68 
33 
132 
84 
105 
122 

280 

62 

212 

'"217" 


Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Driven. . 

Drilled. . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 


In. 
4 
5 
2 

4 

n 
4 

4 
4 
4 

6 
8 
6 
2 
4 


Feet. 
120 

80 
171 

68 
33 
132 

82 

*"i20' 

275 

62 

200 


Feet. 

"is" 

11 

10 
15 
14 

8 
7 


Gravel 


Ft. 




2 


Curtisville 

1£ miles north of 

Goldsmith. 
Hobbs 


do 






3 

4 


do 

do 






R 


Kempton 


...do 






6 




Limestone . . 

do 

do 

...do.... 


70 
68 
73 
70 

139 




7 
8 


Sharpsville 

do 




9 


Carl Harper 

City supply 

do 


h mile south of 

Sharpsville. 
Tipton 




10 


15 

"6^15" 


do 


1 


11 


. .do... 


? 


12 
13 


J. N. Russell 

Public well 

Windfall Canning 
Co. 


do 

Windfall 

do 


Limestone . . 
...do 


120 
60 
60 


q 


14 






...do... 

















220 



UNDEEGEOUND WATEES OF NOETH-CENTEAL INDIANA. 



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UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 221 

WABASH COUNTY. 
SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 

Wabash County is situated on the east edge of the area treated 
in this report and half way between its north and south borders. 
The county is 27 miles long and 16 wide, and is regular in outline 
with the exception of a notch in the northeast corner formed by the 
corner of Whitley County. It has an area of 418 square miles and 
in 1900 the population was 28,235, or 68 to the square mile. Wabash, 
the county seat, lies 70 miles north and 18 miles east of Indianapolis. 

The county is a broad, rather level plateau, across which Wabash 
River has cut a deep, broad valley medially from east to west. Two 
of its principal tributaries have cut valleys diagonally across the 
county, Eel River from the northeast and Mississinewa River from 
the southeast. The upland surface is a till plain, overlain in part 
by morainal deposits. Northwest of Eel River is an area of moraine, 
and east of the Wabash is another north and south moraine belt 
(PI. I). These moraines occupy the highest portions of the surface. 
The extreme northwest corner reaches an elevation of 900 feet 
above tide, and the surface of the Mississinewa moraine is generally 
between 800 and 850 feet in elevation. The lowest point in the 
Wabash Valley, at the west edge of the county, is about 665 feet 
above sea level, giving a total range in elevation of about 235 feet. 

Wabash River and its tributaries receive all the drainage, its valley 
being about 100 feet below the surface of the till plain and 150 feet 
or more lower than the crest of the Mississinewa moraine, through 
which it has cut its way. The valley is less than 1 mile wide above 
Wabash, but becomes gradually wider toward the west, and is cut 
in part into the surface deposits, and in part into the " Niagara" 
limestone. 

Mississinewa River enters from Grant County and crosses the west 
border to join the Wabash above Peru. At Redbridge its valley is 
about 100 feet deep and is cut through the surface deposits to the 
rock, so that occasional outcrops of limestone show at the surface. 
Its drainage basin includes only a narrow belt at the south edge of the 
county. 

Eel River, crossing the northwest corner of the county, follows 
roughly the southeast border of a great moraine, and with its tribu- 
taries drains nearly half of the surface. The stream valley is not 
more than 50 feet below the level of the till plain to the south, but 
the ridgelike crest of the moraine to the northwest reaches heights 
of nearly 200 feet above the river. 

Lakes are found only in the morainic region northwest of Eel 
River and are of the same origin as those farther north, in Kosciusko 
County. They occupy basins in the irregular depressions of the 
moraine surface, which the agencies of erosion have so far failed to 



222 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

drain or fill. The Mississinewa moraine , while of greater area here 
than in Grant County, is of a more even character and lacks depres- 
sions in which the surface waters can collect. There are no marshes 
worthy of note. 

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER. 
UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

The only important alluvial deposits, along the bottom of the 
Wabash Valley, average less than a mile in width, though they are 
somewhat wider locally. Their thickness varies from place to place, 
but at Wabash, where they have been most often penetrated, they 
range up to 60 feet in thickness. Other areas of much smaller extent 
occur along the valley floors of Eel and Mississinewa rivers, where 
flood-plain deposits of gravel and sand are of local importance as 
water bearers. All the valley deposits are found to carry abundant 
waters, which are easily and cheaply obtained and which rise in the 
wells nearly to the surface. The water is well adapted for boiler 
and other industrial uses. For domestic purposes the shallow gravel 
wells should be avoided unless they are located in the country and 
well removed from dwellings, outhouses, or barns. The porous 
nature of the beds permits any sewage at the surface to penetrate 
readily into the ground, and in the absence of impervious clay beds 
above the water-bearing gravel the chances of pollution are many. 

The distribution of the moraines of Wabash County is shown on 
Plate I. That area which lies northwest of Eel River is of strong 
morainic topography with irregular knolls, ridges, and undrained 
kettles, with many of the larger depressions occupied by lakes. 
The morainic material is unusually thick, doubtless 100 to 200 feet 
in the higher portions. The Mississinewa moraine stretches to the 
northeast and southeast of Wabash River east of Wabash. Its relief 
is much less than that of the heavy moraine farther northwest, and 
although the highest points of its surface stand scarcely 50 feet above 
the bordering till plain, the topography is distinctive and in sharp 
contrast to the level till-plain surface. There are no large lakes in its 
depressions. 

The underground waters of the moraines must be obtained from 
the till or from the inclosed gravel or sand beds, and dug wells have 
been most commonly used to secure supplies from the clayey portions 
of the moraine. If gravel beds are encountered the supply is more 
abundant. Within the past ten years it has become generally known 
that drilled or driven wells are almost certain to strike gravel beds at 
depths of less than 100 feet, and almost all new wells are of one of 
these types, the water obtained being more plentiful and much safer 
than that obtained from dug wells. 

Till plains occupy about two-thirds of the surface of Wabash 
County (PI. I). The depth of the drift varies from a thin edge at 



WABASH COUNTY. 223 

points along the sides of the Wabash and Mississinewa valleys to 200, 
300, and even 400 feet in the thickest portions. The surface deposits 
south of the Wabash are not generally of exceptional thickness, as 
wells commonly enter limestone at less than 100 feet. The rock sur- 
face is irregular, however, and contains deep drift-filled valleys. A 
boring at La Fontaine penetrated 400 feet of drift, and this old 
valley has been traced southeast through Grant County and beyond. 
Its extension northwest of La Fontaine is reported by a well driller, 
but can as yet be mapped only approximately. North of the 
Wabash the rock surface dips northward, and at North Manchester in 
the Eel River valley the drift is 274 feet thick. It is probable that 
this material is 400 feet thick in the moraine to the northwest. The 
compact till supplies water by seepage to a large number of dug wells, 
although many dug wells also enter gravel beds below till at depths 
of 20 to 40 feet and obtain an abundant supply. South of Wabash 
some drilled wells find good gravel beds in the till, but many have 
penetrated the underlying limestone before obtaining sufficient water. 
North of the Wabash, in the area of very thick drift, water-bearing 
gravels are found from 20 to 150 feet below the surface. 

CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS. 

All deep borings which have gone through the drift have next 
entered the "Niagara" limestone. This limestone, which outcrops 
at certain points along the deeper valleys, is very uniform in charac- 
ter throughout all the observed localities, and wells are universally 
successful if drilled deeply into it. South of Wabash River rock wells 
are common, and water can be obtained almost anywhere at depths 
of less than 100 feet. North of this river very few wells reach the 
limestone. 

ARTESIAN AREAS. 

The best known flowing well area in the county is that from which 
the city water supply of Wabash is obtained (PI. IV, No. 79), in the 
valley of Treaty Creek, three-fourths of a mile from Wabash River 
and about 60 feet above it. There are now nine flowing wells in use 
and four more have been abandoned. At this point the drift is 
gravelly, and the artesian waters were obtained at depths of 40 to 60 
feet and at 120 feet, and the nine wells yield, without pumping, 
about 1,500,000 gallons a day. The record of the materials pene- 
trated by one of these wells is as follows : 

Record of flowing well for city supply, Wabash. 

Feet. 

Soil 2 

Sand 3 

Clay 33 

White gravel (water-bearing) 60 

Clay 19 

Gravel (water-bearing) 8 

125 



224 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

Area 80 (PL IV) is in the valley of Treaty Creek about 3 miles above 
area 79, and has a single flowing well at White Institute. This well 
was drilled for gas about 1890, and still yields approximately 50 
gallons of water per minute. The water is from the " Niagara" 
limestone and rises 3 feet above the surface. 

Area 81 (PI. IV) includes the valley of a small tributary of Missis- 
sinewa River at Somerset. The wells are all drilled into the "Niag- 
ara" limestone, and the artesian waters come from this formation. 
There are four flowing wells and they are dependent on the same 
source, as the later wells have reduced the flow of the earlier ones. 
The water has a temperature of 53^° F. The record of one of these 
wells is No. 12 in the table on page 228, and an analysis of the water 
is No. 10 in the table on page 229. 

In the lowlands of the Eel River valley at North Manchester there 
are many flowing wells from 55 to 100 feet deep (PI. IV, No. 82), the 
artesian waters being procured from gravel beds covered above by 
tough, impervious till. The water for the city supply is from flowing 
wells. The artesian pressure was formerly much stronger than it is 
now, but the wells have been left uncapped, and the continuous 
drainage of the gravel waters through many openings has greatly 
endangered this valuable supply. The wells are closely related to one 
another, and those situated on lower ground have seriously affected 
other wells higher up on the slope. Some which once flowed copi- 
ously have ceased to flow when other wells below have been put in, 
and neighborhood quarrels have arisen on this account. The remedy 
for this condition of affairs is obvious. A town ordinance should be 
passed requiring all flowing wells to be capped and faucets to be put 
in, so that only such water as is needed shall be drawn. This would 
restore the head to some extent and the flows of all the wells would 
be improved and the artesian head preserved. The present rapid 
diminution of the flows points to a total loss of the artesian head at 
no remote date. 

In the Eel River valley near Liberty Mills there are about half a 
dozen flowing . wells (PL IV, No. 83), all in gravel below till and 30 
to 70 feet deep. The head is sufficient to raise the water 6 to 8 
feet above the surface, and one well that flows about 35 gallons per 
minute is made to run a small water wheel, which pumps water 
throughout the dwelling house. The temperature of the wells 
that were measured was 52° F. The head seems to have been 
affected by the opening of a drainage ditch in the flat 3 miles east of 
the town. 

Flowing wells are reported to occur at intervals along the Missis- 
sinewa Valley west of La Fontaine. All are rock wells, and belong 
to artesian area 27 (PL IV), described under Grant County (p. 120). 



WABASH COUNTY. 225 

CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES. 

Wabash. — The Wabash public supply is owned by the Wabash 
Electric Light and Water Works, a private corporation. The water 
is from nine flowing wells in the valley of Treaty Creek, described 
above as in artesian area 79. No water from Wabash River is 
used. From the wells the water flows by gravity to a covered reser- 
voir at the pumping station, and from this it is forced to a stand- 
pipe on the hill, the pressure on the mains being maintained by 
gravity from the reservoir. There are 26 miles of mains from 6 to 
12 inches in diameter, 1,790 taps are used to supply about 75 per 
cent of the people in Wabash, and 243 fire hydrants are installed 
for fire protection. About 1,300,000 gallons per day are pumped. 

This is a most excellent water supply and is open to criticism 
only from the fact that sometimes the water becomes slightly turbid 
from the loosening of growths of iron-stained algae, which accumu- 
late at the well mouths and in the mains. This trouble could be 
lessened by proper care in removing this material from the boxes at 
the wells and by frequently flushing the mains. 

Wabash is situated partly on a terrace above Wabash River and 
partly on the river bluff 70 feet above the terrace. In the lowlands 
the gravel deposits are in places as much as 60 feet thick and the 
water is abundant for drilled or driven wells. Many wells are 
owned by private individuals. 

On the edge of the bluff the drift is only 10 to 20 feet thick, its 
depth increasing to the north, and the water table is very low near 
the edge of the bluff, so that almost everyone in the higher parts of 
town uses the public supply. A deep boring at Wabash gave the 
following section: 

Section of deep-well boring at Wabash. 

Feet. 

Drift 28 

Niagara limestone and shale 525 

Hudson River and Utica 325 

Trenton limestone 54 

932 

North Manchester. — The North Manchester public water system is 
owned by the city, and the water is obtained from 12 flowing wells, 
described above as in artesian area 82. The record of the wells is 
No. 7 in the table on page 228. The water from six of the wells 
flows into a large cistern, and that from the other six is pumped into it. 
From the cistern the water is pumped to a standpipe 110 feet high 
and said to hold 160,000 gallons, and is distributed by gravity from 

^Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 265. 
46448°— wsp 254—10- 15 



226 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

this standpipe. There are about 9 miles of mains and 250 service 
taps, and the people who use this supply (about one-third) require 
130,000 gallons each day. 

The privately owned wells of North Manchester are numerous^ 
and are almost all driven or drilled. Fortunately most of the 
dug wells have been abandoned. The wells range in depth from 
25 to 140 feet, with 65 feet as the common depth. The head of the 
water varies in different wells from several feet above the surface 
to 20 feet below it. All wells obtain water from gravel, and the supply 
from the deeper wells is good and pure. An analysis of this water is 
No. 8 in the table on page 229. 

The geologic section in this town, as shown by a deep well drilled 
for gas, is as follows: a 

Geologic section at North Manchester, as shown by deep-well record. 

Feet. 

Drift 274 

Niagara limestone and shale 300 

Hudson River limestone and shale 250 

Utica shale 306 

Trenton limestone 50 

1,180 

Roann. — Roann has no public waterworks, and privately owned 
driven and dug wells furnish the water supply. The wells are from 
30 to 85 feet deep, the greater number being supplied by a gravel 
bed at 40 feet below the surface. The deeper gravel waters, where 
protected above by clays, are likely to be pure, but dug wells, espe- 
cially in towns which have no sewage system, are very dangerous, 
as they are sure to become polluted to some extent. All dug wells 
in town should be filled up and replaced by deeper drilled or driven 
wells. 

La Fontaine. — La Fontaine is supplied by privately owned wells, 
which are driven or drilled and are 14 to 100 feet deep. The water 
is found in gravel beds at various depths in the drift. The town is 
located over a great preglacial valley, which extends toward the south- 
east and northwest. Gas-well drillings have found as much as 442 feet 
of drift, while both to the east and west the limestone outcrops at the 
surface. This valley is a continuation of the same valley that J. A. 
Bownocker b has traced into Grant County from the southeast. The 
rock in this town is too far below the surface to have been used as a 
source for well supplies. 

Laketon. — Laketon lies on a rolling till plain near Eel River, and the 
water supply is all obtained from private wells, there being no public 
supply. Most of the wells are drilled, but a few are dug, and all 

a Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Hist., p. 253. 
b Ohio State Acad. Sci., Special Paper No. 3, pp. 32-45. 



WABASH COUNTY. 



227 



obtain water from gravel, no well here having penetrated to rock. 
The wells are from 14 to 65 feet deep, the greatest number entering 
gravel at 35 feet below the surface. The water generally rises 
within 10 feet of the well mouth. There are no springs of importance 
in the neighborhood. 

Other communities. — The following table contains a list of other 
villages in Wabash County, with particulars regarding their water 
supply: 

Other village supplies in Wabash County. 



Town. 



Popu- 
lation 
(1900). 



Source. 



Depth of wells. 



Least. ! 



Great- 



Com- 
mon. 



Depth 

to 
rock. 


Head 

below 
surface. 


Feet. 
0-90 


Feet. 


3+ 


10-30 
25 


60-70 


10-30 


0-30 


15-20 


0-60 







is* 


65 




"ioi"~ 


"'16^35' 


80 





Character of 
water beds. 



Dora. 



Lagro 

Liberty Mills . 

Lincolnville. . 



Mailtrace 

New Holland. 

Redbridge... 

Rich Valley. . 

Rose Hill 

Servia 



Somerset. 



Spiker . . 
Treaty . . 
Urbana. 

Vernon. 



102 
456 



275 

30 
72 

30 

132 

89 

288 

320 



Wells, driven and 

drilled; springs. 

Wells drilled 

Wells, drilled, driven, 

and dug. 
do 



Wells, drilled and dug... 
do 



.do. 



147 
239 



Wells, driven, drilled, 

and dug. 
Wells, dug and drilled.. 
Wells, drilled, driven, 

and dug. 
Wells, dug and drilled.. 



Wells, drilled 

....do 

Wells, drilled and dug. 



.do. 



Feet. 
30 



20 



Feet. 
120 



100 
100 



170 



185 
44 



120 



125 

100 

110 

90 

70 
120 

120 



Feet. 
80 

70 
30 

25,70 

140 
30 

100 

25 I 

80 
. 40 

20 

80 
60 
70 

20 



Limestone and 

gravel. 
Limestone. 
Gravel and sand. 

Gravel and lime- 
stone. 

Gravel. 

Gravel and lime- 
stone. 

Limestone and 
gravel. 

Sand and gravel. 

Gravel. 
Do. 

Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Gravel. 
Do. 
Gravel and lime- 
stone. 
Do. 



228 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF N/ORTH-CEXTRAL IXDLlXA. 
TYPICAL WELLS AND ANALYSES. 

The two following tables contain detailed information regarding 
typical wells in Wabash County and analyses of their waters. The 
numbers in the last column of each table refer to identical wells in 
the other table. 

Records of typical ueUs in Wabash County. 



No. Owner. 


Location. 


Type. 

— 
© 1 

- 


- 
- 


I 

Z 
- 


i: 


Water- 
bearing 
materials. 


I 
B 


1 
a 

i 

- 

- 

o 

'- 


-A 

s 


1 Dr. R. T.. Ranker. 


La Fontaine 

Lagro 

Laketan 

Libertv Mills.... 
do! 

Mailtrace 

North Manches- 
ter. 

do 

do 

Redbridge 

Roann . ."" 

Somerset 

ITrhsma 


Fa 

: - Driven. . 
72 Drilled.. 

37... do 

30. ..do 

. io 

132... do 

80-100... do 

55 ...do 

": . .do 

125... do 

40 Dug 


In. 

¥ 

2 
2 
2 
2 

2 

o 
2 

4 


Ft. Ft. 

.... -20 
72-6 
37-16 


Gravel.. 


Fi 


GalU. 


1 
2 

4 


2 Public well 

3 do 


Limestone . 
Gravel... 


■: 




4 Wm. Dioltz 

5 Edw. Rittenhouse. 

6 E. A. Kanower 

7 Public supply 

S Isaac Lowrey 

9 North Manchester 
Creamery. 


"65 
130 

98 
75 


- 

- 8 
-40 

- 3 

- 3 

- 5 

--; 

-35 

- 

- B 

-i3 

-12 

-20 
-50 

- 3 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 


60 


'.~.'.~.Z5 

6 
20 


5 
..... 

8 


11 Public well 




ffl 


Gravel... 




9 


12 Jacob Drook 

13 Geo. O. Miller... 


120 Drilled.. 

131... do 

80-. .do 

120. ..do 

45-65. ..do 

390. ..do 

126. ..do 

169. ..do 

900. ..do 


3* 
4" 
2 

2 

a i 

..6 

6 
6 


120 
65 

H 

"i20 


Limestone . 
do 




60 
101 





10 

12 


1-1 Daniel E. Spiker . . 

15 Dr. H. Adee 

16 Wabash Electric 


do 

Vernon 

Wabash 


U 


Limestone . 
Gravel . . . 


SO 


"il 


Light and Water 
Works. 
17 do 


do 

do 

do 

4 miles SB 
Wabash. 


Limestone . 
Gravel 


100 






18 L. ..do 


32-5 

■-a 


14.16 


19 Pioneer Hat Works 

20 White Institute. . . . 


Limestone . 
do 


60 





WABASH COUNTY. 



229 



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CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS OF NORTH- 
CENTRAL INDIANA. 



By R. B. Dole. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Information regarding the characteristics of individual waters in 
north-central Indiana is of so local interest and can be so readily 
obtained from the tables of analyses in the main part of the report 
that it does not merit space here. The purpose of this paper is rather 
to suggest standards that may assist intelligent study of the analyt- 
ical data and may show the broad general relations with respect to 
quality between the wells and other sources of supply in this and in 
other regions. The methods of testing the waters are, therefore, 
briefly outlined, the chief uses of water are reviewed, and the qualities 
peculiar to each class of waters are discussed. In conclusion some 
assays giving further information are presented. 

METHODS OF ANALYSIS. 

Many analyses quoted in the preceding pages were made by indus- 
trial chemists chiefly to determine the value of the waters as sources 
of railroad supply. Such estimates are usually made in accordance 
with accepted procedure for industrial work and the results are suffi- 
ciently accurate for most purposes. These analyses, originally stated 
in hypothetical combinations in grains per gallon, have been recom- 
puted to ionic form in parts per million in order that they may be 
compared with analyses from other sources. Though it is probable 
that normal carbonates are actually present in only a few of these 
waters, it was impossible to determine this certainly from the hypo- 
thetical statements, and therefore it has been necessary to compute 
combined carbonic acid to the carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) in nearly all 
these analyses. 

The analyses by Dole, Palmer, and Van Winkle were made in special 

laboratories of the United States Geological Survey in accordance 

with the methods outlined in Water-Supply Paper 236, pages 9 

to 26, inclusive. The probable accuracy of the methods and their 

230 



METHODS OF ANALYSIS. 231 

sources of error are discussed in the same publication. The samples 
of water for these tests were collected in 1 -gallon glass-stoppered 
bottles supplied to the field force from the laboratories, and the 
waters were examined as soon as practicable after collection. 

One-pint samples also were collected by the field men and shipped 
to Indianapolis, where Dr. H. E. Barnard, chief chemist of the 
Indiana state board of health, examined them for total solids, iron, 
calcium, magnesium, carbonates, bicarbonates, sulphates, nitrates, 
and chlorides. As only a small amount of water was available special 
procedures had to be used. One hundred cubic centimeters of the 
sample was titrated with fiftieth normal sulphuric acid in the presence 
of phenolphthalein indicator to estimate carbonates, after which 
methyl orange was added and titration with fiftieth normal sulphuric 
acid was continued until the end point indicated by methyl orange 
appeared, in order to determine the amount of bicarbonates. To the 
residue from the bicarbonate determination 5 cubic centimeters of 
a saturated solution of ammonium chloride was added with sufficient 
ammonia to make the solution alkaline. After the solution was 
heated to boiling 10 cubic centimeters of a saturated solution of 
ammonium oxalate was added and the solution was allowed to cool. 
The precipitate was removed by filtration, washed with hot water, 
ignited, and weighed as calcium oxide. To the filtrate from the 
determination of calcium 10 cubic centimeters of ammonia and 10 
cubic centimeters of a saturated solution of sodium ammonium phos- 
phate were added, after which the contents of the dish were stirred 
vigorously three or four minutes and then allowed to stand three 
hours. The precipitate removed by filtration was washed with 
ammonia water (1 to 3) and ignited slowly at first, but with grad- 
ually increasing temperature until a white ash was obtained, when the 
magnesium was weighed as magnesium pyrophosphate. For the 
determination of chlorine 10 cubic centimeters of the sample was 
titrated with a solution of silver nitrate containing 4.789 grams 
AgN0 3 in 1 liter of distilled water. For the determination of sul- 
phates 100 cubic centimeters of the sample was acidified with hydro- 
chloric acid, heated to boiling, and the sulphates precipitated with 
10 cubic centimeters of a saturated solution of barium chloride. The 
precipitate, after being removed by filtration in hot solution, was 
washed with hot water, dried, ignited, and weighed as barium sul- 
phate, from which the amount of the sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) was 
computed. For total solids 50 cubic centimeters of the sample was 
evaporated in a platinum dish on the water bath and the residue 
weighed. The residue from the determination of total solids was 
dissolved in 15 cubic centimeters of dilute hydrochloric acid, trans- 
ferred to a beaker, 3 or 4 drops of nitric acid were added, and the 
solution was heated for ten minutes on the water bath. It was then 



232 rxDEEGEor:sT> waters of north-cextkal ixdiana. 

transferred to a Xessler tube and 5 cubic centimeters of a 5 per cent 
solution of potassium sulphocyanide was added. The color devel- 
oped was compared with that in iron standards prepared from ferrous 
ammonium sulphate. Nitrates were estimated in a 10 cubic centi- 
meter sample by the phenol-sulphonic acid method. 

Field assays made during a short field study of the quality of boiler 
waters in Wabash Valley are reported in a table at the end of this 
paper. They were performed in accordance with the methods out- 
lined in Water-Supply Paper 151. and though only a few estimates 
were made for each water the information throws some additional 
light on the quality of the waters. The ngures in the column headed 
■•probable incrustants" are obtained by adding to bicarbonates com- 
puted to CaC0 3 the sulphates computed to CaS0 4 and finding the aver- 
age between this sum and the figure representing total hardness, in 
accordance with the following formula. This computation is neces- 
sarily arbitrary and the result is only roughly approximate. 

o* u • , 0.S2 HCOo- 1.42 SO, -total hardness. 
Probable incrustants = =^ 

EXPRESSION OF ANALYTICAL RESULTS. 

The results of the analyses in this paper are stated in parts per 
million, and though the amounts of water for examination were 
measured by volume the mineral content is usually so low that the 
ngures may be considered to represent parts per mihion by weight. 
Simplicity of computations, avoidance of fractions, and certainty of 
the basic unit make this decimal system especially satisfactory for 
practical purposes. Expression of the results of water analyses in 
parts per million has been generally adopted by sanitary and research 
chemists and by many technical chemists, and the exclusive employ- 
ment of this unit industrially is delayed only by more or less objec- 
tionable precedent. 

For the convenience of those who may desire to transform the results 
to other forms of expression it may be stated that multiplying the 
number of parts per million by 0.05S gives the equivalent in grains 
per United States gallon of 231 cubic inches, multiplying it by 0.07 
gives the equivalent in grains per imperial gallon, and multiplying it 
by 0.00833 gives the equivalent in pounds per thousand gallons. 

The analytical methods commonly employed in the examination 
of water permit the estimation of the elements and radicles that are 
present: they also permit the determination of the total amount of 
mineral matter in solution and more or less approximate separation 
of the incrusting from the noninerusting constituents. Besides these 
data, however, ordinary chemical tests give little knowledge regard- 
ing the chemical composition of mineral waters, and consequently 



MINERAL CONSTITUENTS OF WATER. 233 

the exact amounts of the different salts in solution are largely matter 
for conjecture. Though such salts as sodium chloride, potassium 
carbonate, and magnesium sulphate are probably present, they are 
not determined as such, and their exact amounts can not be com- 
puted from the analytical data. The ionic form of stating the analy- 
ses — that is, statement of the radicles present — has been adopted in 
this report because it gives fact and not opinion. The form is entirely 
practical and presents the actual results for the consideration and 
criticism of persons other than those making the tests. 

STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFICATION. 

MINERAL CONSTITUENTS OF WATER. 

All natural waters contain, dissolved or suspended in them, more 
or less of all materials with which they have come in contact. Such 
materials are taken up in amounts determined principally by their 
chemical composition and physical structure, temperature and pres- 
sure, the duration of contact, and the condition of substances that 
have previously been incorporated in. the water. To designate such 
suspended or dissolved matter as ^impurities" is hardly correct, 
because they are introduced normally — in strict accordance with 
natural conditions and not necessarily b} r human agency. It has 
become customary, however, to call such substances impurities when 
they are detrimental or injurious in some proposed use of a water 
supply. For purposes of examination the substances that may be 
present are classified as suspended matter, such as particles of clay or 
leaves; dissolved matter, either of mineral or organic origin; micro- 
scopic animals or plants; and bacteria. The presence or absence of 
very small animals and plants likely to affect the quality of waters is 
determined by microscopic examination, and the chance of contract- 
ing disease by drinking the water is ascertained by bacteriological 
processes. The mineral substances in the well waters of north-cen- 
tral Indiana are the most important, however, and consideration is 
therefore given in the present study chiefly to the suspended and the 
dissolved mineral matter. The amount and nature of the mineral 
ingredients are most commonly determined by estimates of total sus- 
pended matter, total dissolved matter, total hardness, total alka- 
linity, silica, iron, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potas- 
sium, carbonates, bicarbonates, sulphates, nitrates, chlorides, free 
carbonic acid, and free hydrogen sulphide. These estimates are 
measure of the materials most commonly present and most likely to 
affect the value of the waters. Articles describing the methods 
employed in making these estimates have already been cited under 
the heading "Methods of analysis" (p. 230). 



234 UNDEEGBOUND WATERS OF NOETH-CENTBAL INDIANA. 

USES OF WATER. 

In judging the value of a water from the data afforded by analysis 
it is necessary to consider the supply both in relation to the use to 
which it is to be put and in relation to other available supplies. 
Besides being used for drinking and for general domestic purposes, 
water is essential in steam making, paper making, starch manufac- 
ture, and many other industrial processes. The medicinal properties 
of the dissolved minerals are supposed to give many waters special 
significance. For each of these purposes the relative amounts of 
certain ingredients in a water determine its value and assist in its 
classification. For example, considerable iron in a water may be 
harmful in one industrial process and harmless in another. The 
value of a water for another process may be directly measurable by 
the amount of suspended matter present, the amount of dissolved 
matter not being significant. Furthermore, many waters that are 
considered of great medicinal value are unfit for boiler use. 

To catalogue waters as good or bad, hard or soft, pure or impure, 
is indefinite and frequently misleading. Absolutely pure water (H 2 0) 
does not exist in nature, and, as stated before, a water should not be 
called impure when it contains only substances derived by natural 
means from natural sources. The arithmetical values of terms ordi- 
narily employed to describe the quality of water, like those of many 
other words, are variable and largely dependent on local usage. In 
New England, for instance, water to be considered soft must have 
much less than 100 parts per million of total hardness, and water 
containing 30 or 40 parts of sulphates would not be used. In northern 
Indiana, however, it would be difficult to find a well water with total 
hardness less than 100 parts per million, yet many well waters in 
that region are called soft, and waters containing 30 to 40 parts of 
sulphates are often used in boilers without occasioning much com- 
ment. This example illustrates the uncertain significance of general 
descriptive words in classifying waters and emphasizes the advisa- 
bility of knowing the intended use of a water and the composition of 
other available supplies before pronouncing judgment on its quality. 

WATER FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES. 
CONDITIONS IN NOETH-CENTBAL INDIANA. 

The flat topography of north-central Indiana makes highland con- 
served supplies impossible, and the comparatively few meandering 
streams of this prairie land are often so turbid or so evidently pol- 
luted that the prospect of using them as sources of domestic supply 
without purification is not inviting. Consequently wells furnish 
most of the water for drinking and for general domestic purposes. 



WATER FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES. 235 

Of 54 cities and villages having municipal supplies, 48 obtain all or 
part of their water from underground sources and 44 use well water 
exclusively. (See pp. 53-54.) 

PHYSICAL QUALITIES. 

To be entirely acceptable as a domestic supply, water should be 
free from suspended matter, color, and odor, and fairly cool when it 
reaches the consumer; it should be free from disease-bearing germs, 
and it should be low in dissolved mineral ingredients. The nearer a 
water approaches these conditions the more satisfactory it is for 
general use. Suspended mineral matter clogs pipes, valves, and fau- 
cets, and growths of microscopic plants suspended in water frequently 
cause stains in clothes and bad odors. The red or reddish-brown 
masses of suspended matter sometimes occurring in well waters of 
this region are usually growths of CrenotJirix, which is described by 
Whipple a as a small filamentous plant having a gelatinous sheath 
colored by a deposit of ferric oxide. It grows especially in ground 
waters containing considerable iron, forming tufts or layers in water 
pipes and well casings and sometimes clogging them. Particles 
becoming detached escape through faucets, giving the water an 
unsightly appearance and causing rusty stains on clothes washed in 
the water. So far as is known, Crenoihrix in drinking water does 
not cause disease. Color is usually due to dissolved vegetable matter 
and is a cause of serious objection only when it exceeds 20 or 30 
parts per million. In general the well waters of this area are satis- 
factory in respect to suspended mineral matter and color. Some- 
times finely divided material from quicksands enters driven wells, 
but such trouble is not nearly so serious here as in other parts of 
the country. A few of the waters, especially those containing iron, 
develop a turbidity of 10 to 30 parts per million on exposure to the 
air, due to precipitation of dissolved matter, and such a condition 
gives rise to an apparent though not a real color. Most of the color 
recorded in analyses of these well waters is due to this cause, and true 
colors are so low as to be insignificant. Odors may be caused by 
various conditions. An odor like that of rotten eggs, encountered 
in many waters in the oil belt, is due to free hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S). 
Growths of microscopic organisms in tanks and water mains often 
have unpleasant odors that make the water objectionable. 

BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITIES. 

Before a water is used for domestic purposes there should be rea- 
sonable certainty that it is free from disease-bearing organisms. 
Yet present bacteriological technique does not permit positive 

a Whipple, G. C, The microscopy of drinking water, New York, 1899, p. 144. 



236 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

statement regarding the presence or absence of such organisms, and 
it is advisable, therefore, to guard supplies against all chances of 
infection. The disease germs most commonly carried by water are 
those of typhoid fever. The bacilli enter the supply from some spot 
infected by the discharges of a person sick with this disease, and, 
though the germs are comparatively short lived in water, they per- 
sist in fecal deposits for remarkable lengths of time and retain their 
power to infect water. Consequently, wells should be so located 
that their waters are guarded against the entrance of filth of any 
kind, either over the top or by infiltration, and pumps and piping in 
the system should also be protected. The types of rural water sup- 
plies with reference to pollution in a central-western section of the 
United States have been discussed by Kellerman and Whittaker. a 
Considered as to bacteriological purity, the well waters of north- 
central Indiana in general are good. Water from a carefully cased 
well over 20 or 30 feet deep is acceptable if the well is located after 
the exercise of reasonable judgment in regard to privies, cesspools, and 
other sources of pollution. Open dug wells and the pits often con- 
structed as reservoirs around the tops of casings are frequently exposed 
to fecal contamination from above or through cracks in poorly built 
side walls. Care should be taken that the casings of deep wells do 
not become leaky near the surface of the ground so as to allow pollu- 
tion to enter. As a matter of ordinary precaution the ground should 
be kept clean and water should not be allowed to become foul or 
stagnant near any well, no matter how deep it is. If shallow dug 
wells are necessary, they should be constructed with water-tight 
casings extending down into the well as far as practicable and also a 
short distance above ground. The floor, or curbing, should be 
water-tight, and pumps should be used in preference to buckets for 
raising the water. Every possible precaution should be taken to 
prevent feet scrapings and similar dirt from getting into the water 
by way of the top of the well. Underground water is not only less 
likely to become contaminated if protected from surface washings, 
air, and light, but it keeps better and is less likely to develop micro- 
scopic plants that give it a bad taste. 

CHEMICAL QUALITIES. 

Amounts of dissolved substances permissible in a domestic supply 
depend much on their nature. No more than traces of barium, 
copper, zinc, or lead should be present, because these substances are 
poisonous. The occurrence of these elements in measurable amounts 
in ordinary well waters is so rare that tests for them are not usually 
made. Any constituent present in sufficient amount to be clearly per- 

a Kellerman, K. F. and Whittaker, H. A., Farm water supplies of Minnesota: Bull. Bur. Plant Indus- 
try No. 154, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1909. 



WATER FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES. 237 

ceptible to the taste is objectionable. Two parts per million of iron is 
unpalatable to many people, and even this small amount can cause 
trouble by discoloring washbowls and tubs and hy producing rusty 
stains on clothes. Tea or coffee can not be made satisfactorily with 
water containing much iron, because an inky black compound is 
formed. Four or five parts of hydrogen sulphide are unpleasant to the 
taste, and this dissolved gas is objectionable also because it corrodes 
well strainers and other metal fittings. Many well waters in this area 
contain so much free hydrogen sulphide that they are unfit for use. 
The amounts of silica and aluminum ordinarily present in well waters 
have no special significance in relation to domestic supply. The alka- 
lies, sodium and potassium, are high in most Indiana waters in which 
chlorides are high. 

Approximately 250 parts of chlorides make a water taste "salty," 
and much less than that amount causes corrosion. In regions 
where the chloride content runs as low as 5 or 10 parts in normal 
waters unaffected by animal pollution the amount of chlorides is 
frequently taken as a measure of contamination. But such practice 
in north-central Indiana is out of the question for two reasons: 
First, the normal chloride content in most of the well waters is so 
high that the small changes possibly caused by animal pollution are 
insignificant; second, wells near together and free from contamina- 
tion may differ 200 or 300 per cent in their content of chlorides, 
owing to difference in the composition of the materials from which 
they draw their respective supplies. Therefore the establishment of 
isochlors, or lines of equal chlorine, in this area would be of no sani- 
tary value whatever. 

Calcium and magnesium are chiefly responsible for what is known 
as the hardness of water. This undesirable quality is indicated by 
increased soap consumption and by deposition on kettles of scale 
composed almost entirely of calcium, magnesium, carbonates, and 
sulphates. Calcium and magnesium unite with soap, forming in- 
soluble curd}" compounds with no cleansing value and preventing 
the formation of a lather until all of these two basic radicles has been 
precipitated. Hardness is measured by the soap-consuming capacity 
of a water expressed as an equivalent of calcium carbonate (CaC0 3 ) , 
and it can be computed from the amounts of calcium and magnesium 
in a water or can be determined by actual testing with standard 
soap solution. If, as Whipple states, a 1 pound of ordinary soap will 
soften only about 24 gallons of water having a total hardness of 200 
parts per million, it can readily be seen that housekeepers and owners 
of laundries in north-central Indiana are intimately concerned in 
the hardness of water, which ranges in this region from 150 to 500 

a Whipple, G. C, The value of pure water, New York, 1907, p. 26. 



238 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL, INDIANA. 

parts per million and does not in many samples fall below 200 parts. 
The use of soda ash (sodium carbonate) to "break" such waters, or 
to precipitate the calcium and magnesium, is common and effects 
saving in the cost of soap. Some large cities in other States have 
found it advisable to soften their public water supplies instead of 
leaving that task to the individual consumer. 

WATER FOB BOILER USE. 
IMPORTANCE OF MINERAL CONTEXT. 

The amount of mineral matter in the waters of north-central 
Indiana is so considerable that the selection of proper supplies for 
boiler use depends largely on the chemical composition of available 
waters, and the quantity of water required for locomotives by the 
network of railroads in this section is. so enormous that its quality 
is a matter of high importance in industrial economy. The chief 
troubles in boiler-room practice caused by the mineral constituents 
of natural waters are formation of scale, corrosion, and priming. 

FORMATION OF SCALE. 

The most common trouble is formation of scale, or deposition of 
mineral matter within the boiler shell. When water is heated under 
pressure and concentrated by evaporation, as in a steam boiler, cer- 
tain substances are thrown out of solution and solidify on the flues 
and crown sheets or within the tubes. These deposits cause increased 
fuel consumption because they are poor conductors of heat and 
increased cost of boiler repairs and attendance because they have 
to be removed. If the amount of scale is very great or if it is allowed 
to accumulate the boiler capacity is decreased and disastrous ex- 
plosions are likely to take place. In two years the inspectors for 
one insurance company a found over 86,000 boilers, or nearly one- 
fifth of all those examined, to be defective on account of sediment, 
incrustation, and scale. 

The importance of scale formation and of means of reducing or 
preventing it may be judged by considering the effect of a water 
such as is shown on page 265 by the average composition of the waters 
in the fresh-water limestones. If such water were used in a system 
without condensers under ordinary conditions it would form about 
2.6 pounds of scale to 1,000 gallons of water; besides the increased 
fuel consumption and increased depreciation of the plant caused by 
this deposit, the scale itself in a 1,000-horsepower system would 
amount to a ton every seven working days, and this mass would have 
to be shoveled, scraped, and hammered from the inside of the boiler. 

a The Locomotive (Hartford), new ser., vol. 21, 1900, p. 29; vol. 22, 1901, p. 21. 



WATER FOR BOILER USE. 239 

In one boiler room in Indianapolis $160 a month has been saved in 
maintenance charges by treating the water supply . a 

The scale or incrustation consists of the substances that are insolu- 
ble in the feed water or become so within the boiler under conditions 
of ordinary operation. It includes practically all the suspended 
matter, or mud; the silica, probably precipitated as silica (Si0 2 ) ; 
the iron and aluminum, appearing in the scale as oxides or hydrated 
oxides; the calcium, precipitated principally in the form of car- 
bonate and sulphate; and the magnesium, found in the deposits 
principally as the oxide but partly as the carbonate. The scale con- 
constituted by these substances is therefore a mixture of compounds, 
which varies in amount, density, hardness, and composition with 
different conditions of water supply, steam pressure, type of boiler, 
and other circumstances. Calcium and magnesium are the prin- 
cipal basic substances in the scale, over 90 per cent of which usually 
is calcium, magnesium, carbonates, and sulphates. . If much organic 
matter is present part of it is precipitated with the mineral scale, as 
the organic matter is decomposed by heat or by reaction with other 
substances. If magnesium and sulphates are comparatively low or 
if suspended matter is comparatively high the scale is soft and bulky 
and may be in the form of sludge that can be blown or washed 
from the boiler. On the other hand, a clear water relatively high in 
magnesium and sulphates may produce a hard, compact scale that 
is nearly as dense as porcelain, clings to the tubes, and offers great 
resistance to the transmission of heat. Therefore the value of a 
water for boiler use depends not only on the quantity of scale pro- 
duced by it but also on the plrysical structure of the scale, 

CORROSION. 

Corrosion or " pitting r is caused chiefly by the solvent action of 
acids on the iron of the boiler. Free acids capable of dissolving iron 
occur in some natural waters, especially in the drainage from coal 
mines, which usually contains free sulphuric acid. Many ground 
waters contain free hydrogen sulphide, a gas that readily attacks 
boilers; dissolved oxygen and free carbon dioxide also are corrosive 
in their action. Organic matter is probably a source of acids, for 
it is well known that waters high in organic matter and low in calcium 
and magnesium are corrosive, though the exact nature and action 
of the organic bodies are not understood. Acids freed in the boiler 
during the steam-making process by the deposition of basic radicles 
as hydrates are the most important cause of corrosive action. Iron, 
aluminum, and magnesium are precipitated as hydrates that are later 
partly or completely converted into oxides. According to the chem- 
ical composition of the water the acid radicles that were in equilib- 

aBoardman, A. J., Proper treatment of boiler feed water: Power and Engineer, vol. 30, 1909, p. 552. 



240 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

rium with these bases may do one or all of three things : They may 
pass into equilibrium with other bases, displacing equivalent propor- 
tions of carbonates and bicarbonates; or they may decompose car- 
bonates that have been precipitated as scale ; or they may combine 
with the iron of the boiler, thus causing corrosion. If these acids 
exceed the amount required to decompose the carbonate and bi- 
carbonate radicles present the iron of the boiler is attacked, and the 
results are pits or tuberculations of the interior surface, leaks, par- 
ticularly around rivets, and consequent deterioration of the boiler. 

FOAMING. 

Foaming is the formation of masses of bubbles on the surface of 
the water in the boiler and in the steam space above the water ; 
and it is intimately connected with priming, which is the passage 
of water mixed with steam from the boiler. Foaming results when 
anything prevents the free escape of steam from the water. It 
may be due to particles of suspended matter, but usually the 
principal cause is an excess of dissolved substances that increases 
the surface tension of the liquid, and thereby reduces the readiness 
with which the steam bubbles break. Therefore the tendency of a 
water to foam varies inversely with the concentration it will undergo 
before developing an excessive surface tension. As the sodium and 
potassium salts remain dissolved in the boiler water while the greater 
portion of the other substances is precipitated, the foaming tendency 
is commonly measured by the degree of concentration of the alka- 
line salts in solution, because this figure considered in connection with 
the type of boiler determines the length of time that a boiler may 
run without danger of foaming. 

REMEDIES FOR BOILER TROUBLES. 

The best remedy for troubles caused by substances in feed waters 
is treatment of supplies before they enter boilers; this subject is 
considered under ' ' Purification of water " (p. 251) . When such treat- 
ment can not be given there are various ways of reducing potential 
injury. Low-pressure, large-flue boilers are frequently used in 
stationary plants in the Central States with hard waters, and it is 
said that the scale formed in them is softer and more flocculent and 
can therefore be more readily removed than that in high-pressure 
boilers. Blowing oft is about the only practical means of preventing 
foaming, because this trouble is due principally to concentration of 
soluble salts in the residual water of the boilers. Accumulated 
sludge, or soft scale, can be removed by blowing, particularly in 
locomotive practice. In condensing systems much of the trouble due 
to mineral matter in the feed water is obviated because the quantity 
of raw water supplied is proportionately small. The problem is not 



WATER FOE BOILER USE. 241 

completely solved in such systems, because the incrusting or corro- 
sive action is transferred from the boiler to the condenser, which 
requires more or less cleaning and repairing in proportion to the 
undesirable qualities of the water supply. 

BOILER COMPOUNDS. 

Boiler compounds are widely used in regions where hard waters 
abound, but treatment within the boiler should be given only when it 
is impossible to purify the supply before it enters the boiler. If pre- 
vious purification is not practicable the feed water frequently can be 
improved by judicious addition of chemicals. Many substances, 
ranging from flour, oatmeal, and sliced potatoes to barium and chro- 
mium salts, have been recommended for such use, but only two or 
three have proved to be truly economical. Cary° has classified these 
substances according to their action within the boiler. Those that 
attack chemically the scaling and corroding constituents precipitate 
the incrusting matter and neutralize acids. Soda ash, the commercial 
form of sodium carbonate, containing about 95 per cent Na 2 C0 3 , is the 
most valuable substance of this character, because it is comparatively 
cheap and its use is attended with the least objectionable results. 
Tannin and tannin compounds are also frequently used for the same 
purpose. Palmer 6 mentions the use of limewater to prevent corrosion 
and to obviate foaming, and it is probable that lime used with waters 
high in organic matter and very low in incrustants would improve 
them. The chemical reactions occurring when soda ash is used to 
remove the mineral constituents of water have been discussed at 
length in previous publications, and it is not necessary to enter 
into details here. The proper amount to be used is a question to 
be decided for each water from its chemical composition and the style 
of boiler. The use of soda ash results in neutralizing of acids, precipi- 
tating the incrusting ingredients in a softer, more flocculent form, which 
is more easily removed from the boiler, and increasing the foaming 
tendency of the water by increasing its content of dissolved matter. 
Gary's second class of boiler compounds comprises those that act 
mechanically on the precipitated crystals of scale-making matter soon 

a Cary, A. A., The use of boiler compounds: Am. Machinist, vcl. 22, pt. 2, 1899, p. 1153. 

6 Palmer, Chase, Quality of the underground waters in the Blue Grass region of Kentucky: In Water- 
Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 233, 1909, p. 187. 

c Stabler, Herman, The mineral analysis of water for industrial purposes and its interpretation by the 
engineer: Eng. News f vol. 60, 1908, p. 355. 

Cary, A. A., The use of boiler compounds: Am. Machinist, vol. 22, pt. 2, 1899, p. 1153. 

Handy, J. O., Water-softening: Eng. News, May 26, 1904, p. 499. 

Davidson, G. M., The C & N. W. method of water treatment: Proc. Western Ry. Club, vol. 15, No. 6, 
Feb. 17, 1903. 

Booth, W. H., Water softening and treatment, London, 1906. 

Collett, Harold, Water softening and purification, London, 1896. 

Christie, W. W., Boiler waters, New York, 1906. 

46448°— wsp 254—10 16 



242 UNDEEGEOUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTBAL INDIANA. 

after they are formed, surrounding them and robbing them of their 
cement-like action. Glutinous, starchy, and oily substances belong 
to this class, but they are not now used to any considerable extent 
because they frequent!}' thicken and foul the water more than they 
prevent the formation of hard scale. The third class comprises those 
that act mechanically, like those of the second class, and also partly 
dissolve deposited scale, thus loosening it and aiding in its ready 
removal. Kerosene is the most effective of such materials. 

Many boiler compounds possessing or supposed to possess one or 
more of the functions just described are on the market, and the sale of 
them is very great. Some are effective and some are positively inju- 
rious. Most of them depend for their chief action on soda ash, petro- 
leum, or a vegetable extract, but all are costly compared with lime 
and soda ash. Every engineer should bear in mind that a steam 
boiler is an expensive piece of apparatus and that fuel and boiler 
repairs are also expensive. Therefore he should hesitate to add sub- 
stances to his feed water without competent advice regarding their 
effect. It is far more economical to have the water supply analyzed 
and to treat it effectively by certain well-known chemicals in proper 
proportion, either within or without the boiler, than to experiment 
with compounds of unknown composition. 

NUMERICAL STANDARDS. 

Stabler ° in his excellent mathematical discussion of the quality 
of waters with reference to industrial uses gives several formulas by 
which waters may be classified. His methods of calculating the 
amount and the character of scale likely to result from use of a 
water are given as follows : 

A = .008338m + .00S33Cm + .0107Fe + .0157A1 + .0138Mg + .0246Ca. 

B = Sm + Cm + 1.3Fe + 1.9Ai + 1.66Mg + 2.95Ca. 

A represents pounds of scale per 1,000 gallons of water and B 
(computed from the preceding formula) represents parts per million 
of scale. Sm, Cm, Fe, Al, Mg, and Ca represent, respectively, the 
amounts in parts per million of suspended matter, colloidal matter 
(silica plus oxides of iron and alumium), iron, aluminum, magnesium, 
and calcium in the water. In this formula Ca should not exceed 
.668CO3 + .328HC0 3 + .417S0 4 , in which C0 3 , HC0 3 , and S0 4 represent, 
respectively, the amounts in parts per million of the carbonate, 
bicarbonate, and sulphate radicles present in the water. It is some- 
times uncertain whether iron and aluminum are in solution or in 
colloidal state, but in applying these formulas to Indiana ground 
waters little error is introduced by assuming that Cm equals silica 
only. If it is desired to compute the scale-forming ingredients of 
waters whose analyses in this report give no values for silica, iron, 

a Eng. News, vol. 60, 1908, p. 355. 



WATER FOE BOILER USE. 



243 



or aluminum, Cm may be taken as 20 and Fe and Al as zero, with- 
out introducing great error. In clear waters Sm would of course 
be zero; consequently for most > Indiana ground waters the amount 
of scale may be estimated practically from the figures representing 
silica, calcium, and magnesium. 

In the following Stabler formula C represents the amount of hard 
scale in pounds per 1,000 gallons of water and D the same in parts 
per million recomputed from the C formula; Si0 2 , Mg, CI, S0 4 , Na, 
and K represent the respective amounts in parts per million of 
silica, magnesium, chlorides, sulphates, sodium, and potassium. If 
the alkalies are not separated, the figure representing sodium and 
potassium together and computed as sodium may be used with the 
Na coefficient in place of the last two terms of these formulas. 

C=. 00833 SiO a + .0138 Mg+ (.016C1 + .0118 SO 4 -.0246Na-.0145 
K). 

D = Si0 3 + 1.66 Mg+ (1.92Cl+1.42S0 4 -2.95Na- 1.74 K). 

The ratio (b) between the amount of hard scale and the total 
amount of scale is an index of the probable hardness of the scale, 
expressed thus: 

b = A = B 

If b is not more than 0.25 the scale may be classified as soft; if 
between 0.25 and 0.5, as medium; and if more than 0.5, as hard. 
For other formulas and comments on those quoted the original 
article should be consulted. 

The committee on water service of the American Railway Engi- 
neers and Maintenance of Way Association have offered ° a classifica- 
tion of waters in their raw state that may be employed for approxi- 
mate purposes, but, as the report states, "it is difficult to define by 
analysis sharply the line between good and bad water for steam- 
making purposes." The following table gives this classification with 
the amounts transformed to parts per million. In many Indiana 
waters the total incrusting and corrosive constituents are equivalent 
approximately to total solids. 

Approximate classification of waters for boiler use according to proportion of incrusting 

and corroding constituents. 



Parts per million. 


Classifica- 
tion. 


More 
than— 


Not more 
than — 




90 
200 
430 
680 


Good. 
Fair. 
Poor. 
Bad. 
Very bad. 


90 
200 
430 
680 







oProc. Am. Ry. Eng. and Maintenance of Way Assoc, vol. 5, 1904, p. 595. 



244 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

These limits must be interpreted liberally in practice, because they 
are modified by the comparative hardness of the incrustation and the 
different extent of corrosion effected by waters of the same mineral 
content but of different chemical composition. Waters of the worst 
class may be improved by treatment in softening plants. The ques- 
tion how bad a water may be used without treatment can be decided 
by comparing the cost of artificially softening the water with the 
saving effected by the use of softened water. A report ■ of the com- 
mittee on water service, just quoted, describes the principles on which 
such calculations should be based. In general, it is economical in loco- 
motive service to treat waters containing 250 to 850 parts per million 
of incrustants and those containing less than the lower amount if the 
scale formed contains much sulphates. b As the incrusting solids 
may commonly be reduced to 80 or 90 parts per million, the economy 
of treating boiler waters deserves consideration in a region where 
most of the supplies contain 300 to 500 parts per million of incrusting 
and corrosive matter. The amount of mineral matter that makes a 
water unfit for boiler use depends on the combined effect in boilers of 
the softening reagents used with such waters and of the constituents 
not removed by softening. Substances added to a supply to remove 
incrustants or to prevent corrosion increase the foaming tendency, 
and this increase may be great enough to render a water useless for 
steaming purposes. It is not of much benefit to soften a water con- 
taining more than 850 parts per million of nonincrusting material and 
much incrusting sulphates. 6 Waters containing over 400 parts per 
million of alkali salts may be classed as bad for boiler use. c Though 
waters containing as high as 1,700 parts per million of foaming con- 
stituents have been used, it is usually more economical to incur con- 
siderable expense in replacing such supplies by better ones. 

WATER FOR OTHER INDUSTRIAL USES. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The manufacture of many articles is affected by the ingredients of 
natural waters. The quality of water for boiler service has already 
been discussed; with reference to factories it need only be added that 
increase of boiler efficiency often justifies purification of bad water 
when increased value of the manufactured product alone may not be 
considered to do so. This observation applies particularly to paper, 
pulp, and strawboard mills, laundries, and other establishments 
where large quantities of water are evaporated to furnish steam for 
drying, and to ice factories and similar plants where distilled water is 

a Proc. Am. Ry. Eng. and Maintenance of Way Assoc., vol. 8, 1907, p. 601. 
b Idem, vol. 6, 1905, p. 610. 
cldem, vol. 9, 1908, p. 134. 



WATER FOR OTHER INDUSTRIAL USES. 245 

produced. But besides its use for steam making water plays a specific 
part in many manufacturing processes. In paper mills, strawboard 
mills, bleacheries, dye works, canning factories, pickle factories, cream- 
eries, slaughterhouses, packing houses, nitroglycerin factories, distill- 
eries, breweries, woolen mills, starch works, sugar works, canneries, glue 
factories, soap factories, and chemical works water becomes a part of 
the product or is essential in its manufacture. As the principal func- 
tion of water in most of these establishments is that of a cleansing 
agent or a vehicle for other substances, a supply free from color, odor, 
suspended matter, microscopic organisms, and especially bacteria of 
fecal origin, and fairly low in dissolved substances, especially iron, 
generally is satisfactory; but there are some exceptions. Water 
rrygienically acceptable is necessary where it comes in contact with 
or forms part of food materials, as in the making of beverages, starch, 
and dairy or meat products. As all these ideal conditions are infre- 
quently encountered in natural supplies, the manufacturer is con- 
fronted with the problems of ascertaining what degree of freedom 
from these substances is necessary to prevent injury to his machinery 
or to his output and whether the cost of obtaining such purity is coun- 
terbalanced by decreased cost of production and increased value of 
product. Competitive business methods and increased facilities of 
transportation have standardized the values of manufactured articles 
so thoroughly that makers are now obliged to scrutinize carefully 
every item of production cost in order to obtain reasonable profits. 
Therefore any appreciable saving effected by improvement of the 
water supply is one of the easiest sources of profit for the manufac- 
turer. 

The effects in some industries of the substances most commonly 
found in water are here outlined. The treatment is not exhaustive, 
the object being to offer approximate standards to aid in classification. 

EFFECT OF FREE ACIDS. 

Free mineral acids, such as sulphuric acid in drainage from coal 
mines or hydrochloric acid in the effluents of some industrial estab- 
lishments, are especially injurious and nearly alwa} T s necessitate 
purification. In paper mills, cotton mills, bleacheries, and dye 
works acids decompose chemicals and streak the fabrics, besides 
rotting them. They also corrode metal work, rapidly destroying 
screens, strainers, and pipes. Such effects are likely to follow the use 
of water that contains a measurable amount of free mineral acid. 

EFFECT OF SUSPFNDED MATTER. 

Suspended matter in surface waters may be of vegetable, mineral, 
or animal origin, as it consists of particles of sewage, bits of leaves, 
sawdust, sticks, or sand and clay. The silt so common in rivers of the 



246 UNDEBGEOTJND WATERS OF XOBTH-CEXTBAL INDIANA. 

West is largely derived froni sand and clay. Few well waters contain 
suspended animal or vegetable matter, but many carry finely divided 
sand and clay, and they frequently become turbid by precipitation of 
dissolved ingredients. Suspended matter is objectionable in all proc- 
esses in which water is used for washing or comes into contact with 
food materials, because it is likely to stain or spot the product. 
For this reason even a small amount of suspended matter due to 
precipitated iron is especially injurious. Small amounts (10 to 20 
parts per million) of suspended vegetable or animal matter liable to 
decomposition or to partial solution are much more objectionable 
than equal quantities of mineral matter. For these reasons water 
should be freed from suspended matter before being used for laun- 
dering, bleaching, wool scouring, paper making, dyeing, starch and 
sugar making, brewing, distilling, and similar processes. In making 
the coarser grades of paper, such as strawboard, a small amount of 
suspended matter is not especially injurious, but for the finer white 
and colored varieties clear water is essential. 

EFFECT OF COLOR. 

Color in water is due principally to solution of vegetable matter, 
and materials bleached, washed, or dyed with light shades in colored 
water are likely to become tinged. Highly colored waters can be 
used in making wrapping or dark-tinted papers, but not the white 
grades, and paper manufacturers are put to great expense for water 
purification on that account. The lower waters are in color, there- 
fore, the more desirable they are for use in bleacheries. dye works 
paper mills, and other factories where fabrics are likely to acquire 
undesirable brown tints. 

EFFECT OF IRON. 

Iron is the most undesirable dissolved constituent and its presence 
in comparatively small quantities necessitates purification. Many 
ground waters contain 1 to 20 parts per million of iron, which may be 
precipitated by exposure to the air and by release of hydrostatic pres- 
sure, causing the waters to become turbid; such waters often develop 
growths of Crenothrix (see p. 235) that interfere in many industrial 
operations. In all cleansing processes, especially if soap or alkali 
is used, precipitated iron is likely to cause rusty or dull spots. In 
contact with materials containing tannin compounds iron forms 
greenish or black substances that discolor the product. Therefore 
many waters containing amounts even as small as 1 or 2 parts per 
million of iron have to be purified before they can be used indus- 
trially. In water for dye works iron is especially objectionable and 
it commonly prevents the use of the water without purification. 

a Sadtler, S. P., A handbook of industrial organic chemistry, Philadelphia, 1900, p. 483. 



WATER FOR OTHER INDUSTRIAL USES. 247 

Iron in the water supply of paper mills may be precipitated on the 
pulp, giving it a brown color, or during sizing or tinting, giving spotty 
effects. Water containing much iron can not be used in bleaching 
fabrics, because salts that spot the goods are formed. The dark- 
colored compounds that iron forms with tannin discolor hides in 
tanning and barley in malting, and also give beer bad color, odor, 
and taste. a 

EFFECT OF CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM. 

Calcium and magnesium are similar in their industrial effects and 
they usually vary together in amount, waters carrying 10 to 50 per 
cent as much magnesium as calcium. In most Indiana waters cal- 
cium and magnesium are the predominating bases. In boiling proc- 
esses some calcium and magnesium are precipitated on whatever is 
boiled in the water, and this deposit may interfere with later opera- 
tions because it covers the material. As these two basic substances 
decompose equivalent amounts of many chemicals employed in tech- 
nical operations they are a cause of waste, and the alkaline-earth com- 
pounds thus formed on fabrics also interfere with later treatment. 
This is the chief trouble with calcareous waters and the greatest argu- 
ment in favor of preliminary softening. Some of the chemicals used 
to disintegrate the fibers in making pulp are consumed by the calcium 
and magnesium in the water supply, but the loss from this source is 
not nearly so great as that occurring later when the resin soap used 
in sizing the paper is decomposed by the calcium and magnesium. 
The insoluble soaps thus created do not fix themselves on the fibers, 
but form clots and streaks. Similar decomposition of valuable cleans- 
ing materials and subsequent deposition of insoluble compounds 
take place in laundering, wool scouring, and similar processes. In 
the manufacture of soap calcium and magnesium form with the fatty 
acids curdy precipitates that are insoluble in water and therefore have 
no cleansing value. Many dyeing operations are interfered with by 
calcium and magnesium, which neutralize chemicals and change the 
reaction of the baths, besides forming insoluble compounds with many 
dyes. Highly calcareous waters can not be used for boiling the grain 
in distilleries because proper action is hindered by deposition of 
alkaline-earth salts on the particles of grain, nor for diluting spirits 
because they cause turbidity. 6 Very soft water, on the other hand, 
is said to be undesirable in paper mills for loading papers with any 
form of calcium sulphate because such waters dissolve part of the 
loading materials. . Probably waters high in chlorides would also be 
bad for this purpose because chlorides increase the solubility of cal- 
cium sulphate. 

"De la Coux, M. A. J., L'eau dans l'industrie, Paris, 1900, pp. 187 and 232. 

&Idem, p. 251. 

cCross, C F., and Bevan, E. J., A text-book of paper making, New York, 1900, p. 294. 



248 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL, INDIANA. 
EFFECT OF CARBONATES. 

The effects of carbonates and bicarbonates in waters used in indus- 
trial processes are not differentiated in this paragraph. It is not un- 
common to estimate the combined carbonic acid and to state it as the 
carbonate (C0 3 ) without distinguishing between the carbonate (C0 3 ) 
and bicarbonate (HC0 3 ), though in many natural waters the carbo- 
nate radicle is absent, the combined carbonic acid being present in the 
form of bicarbonates. If hard waters proportionately high in carbo- 
nates and low in sulphates are boiled the bicarbonate radicle is de- 
composed, free carbonic acid is given off, and the greater part of the 
calcium and magnesium is precipitated. For this reason waters of 
that character are generally more desirable for industrial operations 
than waters high in sulphates and low in carbonates, as boiling does 
not greatly reduce the amount of the hardening constituents under 
the latter conditions. In beer making waters high in carbonates are 
said to produce dark-colored beers with a pronounced malt flavor be- 
cause the carbonates increase the solubility of the nitrogenous bodies, 
whereas waters high in sulphates yield pale beers with a definite hop 
flavor because the sulphates reduce the solubility of the malt and the 
coloring matters. 

EFFECT OF SULPHATES. 

The influence of sulphates in beer making has been noted. Hard 
waters with sulphates predominating are desirable in tanning heavy 
hides because they swell the skins, exposing more surface for the action 
of the tan liquors. 6 Sulphates interfere with crystallization in sugar 
making so that the amount of sugar retained in the mother liquor is 
increased. 

EFFECT OF CHLORIDES. 

High chlorides in most Indiana waters are accompanied by high 
alkalies. Appreciable amounts of chlorides are injurious in many 
industrial processes. Beverages and food products, of course, can 
not be treated with waters very high in chlorides without becoming 
salty. In tanning, chlorides cause the hides to become thin and 
flabby. 6 Animal charcoal used in clarifying sugar is robbed of its 
bleaching power by absorption of salt, and chloride-bearing waters 
also affect the quality of sugars because saline salts are incorporated 
in the crystals. In the preparation of alcoholic beverages chlorides 
in large amount prevent the growth of the yeast and interfere with the 
germination of the grain. The only way of removing chlorides from 
water that has been commercially developed is by distillation. The 

a Brewing water, its defects and remedies, New York, 1909, p. 19. Also De la Coux, op cit., p. 169. 
b Parker, H. N., Stream pollution [in Potomac River basin]: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Suivey No. 
192, 1907, p. 194. 
c De la Coux, op. cit., p. 152. 



WATER FOB MEDICINAL USE. 249 

cost of this process has been greatly reduced by use of multiple- 
effect evaporators, and this method of purification is worth consid- 
eration where chloride-bearing waters must be used. 

EFFECT OF ORGANIC MATTER. 

Organic matter of fecal origin is of course dangerous in any water 
supply that comes into contact with food products, and water so 
polluted should be purified before being used. Care in this respect 
is particularly necessary in creameries, slaughterhouses, canneries, 
pickle factories, distilleries, breweries, sugar factories, and starch 
works. Organic matter not necessarily capable of producing disease 
is undesirable in industrial supplies because it induces decomposition 
in other organic materials — like cloth, yarn, sugar, starch, meat, or 
paper — rotting and discoloring them. 

EFFECT OF HYDROGEN SULPHIDE. 

Hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) is a gas with an odor like that of rotten 
eggs, and it occurs dissolved in some underground w T aters. It is 
corrosive even in small quantities, and it also injures materials by 
discoloring and rotting them. This substance is associated with so 
much dissolved salts in many waters that they are unfit for industrial 
use for reasons other than their gaseous content. 

EFFECT OF OTHER SUBSTANCES. 

Silica and aluminum are usually not present in sufficient quantity 
to have any appreciable effect in industrial processes, except when 
water is evaporated. Large quantities of sodium and potassium, by 
adding to the amount of dissolved matter, are objectionable in some 
manufacturing operations. Phosphates, nitrates, and some other 
substances not noted in this outline interfere with industrial chemical 
reactions, but they are seldom present in natural waters in sufficient 
quantity to have noticeable effect. 

WATER FOR MEDICINAL USE. 

The relation between the constituents of natural waters and their 
physiologic action has been discussed at length in the works of 
Cohen, Crook, 6 and others. An excellent article by Hessler c 
refers especially to the mineral waters of Indiana. Blatchley d has 

a Cohen, S. S., System of physiologic therapeutics, vol. 9, Philadelphia, 1902. 

& Crook, J. K., The mineral waters of the United States and their therapeutic uses, New York, 1899. 

c Hessler, Robert, The medicinal properties and uses of Indiana waters: Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept., 
Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Res., 1903, p. 159; also The mineral waters of Indiana, with indications 
for their therapeutic application: Trans. Indiana State Z\Ied. Soc, 1902. 

d Blatchley, W. S., The mineral waters of Indiana: Twenty-sixth Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology 
and Nat. Res., 1903, p. 11. 



250 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

described 16 mineral waters in the 19 counties included in this report. 
To note a few features that are often forgotten or disregarded in con- 
sidering the application of mineral waters may not be out of place. 

The term " mineral" may reasonably be applied to all natural 
waters, as all contain dissolved mineral matter, but in general practice 
it is restricted to those that are exploited on account of their sup- 
posedly specific physiologic action. The term "medicinal" is some- 
times used to distinguish highly mineralized waters from those that 
are low in mineral constituents and are especially acceptable as table 
waters by reason of their physical characteristics. The most logical 
classification of waters for discussing their chemical constituents in 
relation to therapeutics is that of Peale a as modified by Haywood 6 for 
the ionic form of stating analyses of water, though Haywood's sys- 
tem is somewhat misleading in a few minor details. It is a strictly 
chemical classification, by which waters are grouped according to 
their reaction and their predominating basic and acid radicles, so that 
the name conveys a statement of the principal active substances. 

The therapeutic application of water, or its use for the correction 
of diseased conditions of the human body, has always been recognized 
in scientific writings, and the continued and increasing patronage of 
mineral-spring resorts and the undoubted improvement of many 
patients treated there clearly indicate that natural waters have 
curative properties. Yet the frequent claims of miraculous recovery 
by the use of mineral waters, together with the extravagant state- 
ments regarding the waters, can but rouse skepticism as investigation 
reveals how meagerly such claims are supported by evidence. State- 
ment of analyses in hypothetical combination adds to the confusion, 
because the identity and the number of the compounds calculated 
depend on the judgment of the analyst and not on his laboratory 
data. Therefore comparison of the analyses of different waters is 
rendered difficult and misleading. Lithium, for instance, is said to 
be a particularly valuable ingredient; yet many analysts report 
lithium carbonate, sulphate, or chloride in waters in spite of the fact 
that the physiologic action is due mainly to the lithium itself and not 
to lithium carbonate in distinction from the chloride or the sulphate 
or, in other words, that the action takes place only when the salt 
is dissociated. If different lithium compounds are reported, it is 
impossible to measure the effect of the lithium, unless it is recognized 
that 5.3 parts per million of lithium carbonate, 6.1 parts of lithium 
chloride, 7.9 of the sulphate, and 9.7 of the bicarbonate contain 

a Peale, A. C, The natural mineral waters of the United States: Fourteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Sur- 
vey, 1894, pt. 2, p. 53; also, The classification of American mineral waters: Trans. Am. Climatological 
Assoc, May 31, 1907; also, introductory chapter on the classification of mineral waters in Cohen's System 
of physiologic therapeutics, vol. 9, 1902, p. 299. 

& Haywood, J. K., and Smith, B. H., Mineral waters of the United States: U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem- 
istry, Bull. 91, 1905, p. 9. 



PURIFICATION OF WATEE. 251 

each exactly 1 part of lithium. The curative properties of some 
waters are attributed to minor ingredients that are present in com- 
paratively insignificant quantities, and many waters containing much 
less than 1 part per million of lithium are widely advertised as lithia 
waters. Though it is true that many drugs are as efficient when 
given in very small but frequent doses as when given in one large 
dose, the therapeutic value of 1 part per million of lithium may well 
be questioned, because a physician would have to prescribe 200 tum- 
blerfuls of the water in order to administer an ordinary minimum 
dose of lithium. The physiologic effect of these minor ingredients is 
usually overshadowed by that of other substances present in much 
larger quantities. Many strong brines, for example, contain con- 
siderable amounts of lithium, but, as Hessler states, a the effect of 
10 parts of lithium in the presence of 1,000 or more parts of 
chlorides would probably be insignificant as compared with the 
effect of the saline constituents. Many mineral springs are found to 
possess radioactivity, and this characteristic has been advanced 
as explaining their curative qualities. So far as the writer is 
informed, however, no acceptable proof of this theory has been 
advanced. On the other hand, the beneficial effect on the human 
body of water itself, both hot and cold, used internally or exter- 
nally, is thoroughly recognized in therapeutics, and the curative 
qualities of waters not containing appreciable amounts of physio- 
logically active substances may be attributed as reasonably to the 
action of water itself, combined with a normal regimen of diet, 
exercise, and other hygienic restrictions, as to some mysterious 
quality or substance yet undiscovered. 

PURIFICATION OF WATER. 

GENERAL DISCUSSION. 

Purification of water is removal or reduction in amount of sub- 
stances that render waters in their raw state unsuitable for use. It 
is practiced on a large scale with one or more of three objects in 
view: First, to render a supply safe and unobjectionable for drinking; 
second, to reduce the amount of the mineral ingredients injurious to 
boilers; third, to remove substances injurious to the machinery or to 
the manufactured product in industrial processes. The largest 
purification plants in this country have been constructed in order to 
produce potable waters without special attention to other possible 
uses, and some waters need no further treatment before being suitable 
for steaming and for general industrial purposes. But many other 
waters are hard, and increased appreciation of the value of good 
water has resulted in demand for the removal of the hardening con- 

a Hessler, Robert, The mineral waters of Indiana, with indications for their therapeutic application: 
Trans. Indiana State Med. Soc, 1902. 



252 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

stituents also. An excellent example of the result of such insistence 
is the recently installed plant at New Orleans, where hard, colored, 
turbid, sewage-polluted river water is brought up to practically all 
industrial and domestic standards of purity. 

Removal of bacteria, especially those causing disease, and removal 
of turbidity, odor, taste, and iron are the principal requirements in 
purification of a municipal supply, elimination of bacteria and sus- 
pended matter being the most important. The most common 
methods of effecting such purification are slow filtration through 
sand and rapid filtration after coagulation, both methods usually 
being combined with sedimentation. The first process is known as 
slow sand filtration and the second as mechanical filtration. The 
efficiency of such filters is measured primarily by the ratio between 
the number of bacteria in the applied water and the number in the 
effluent. This figure, stated in percentage of removal, should be as 
high as 98 and often reaches 99.8 per cent with a filter of either kind 
operated carefully under normal conditions. 

Removal of scale-forming and neutralization of corrosive con- 
stituents are the chief aims in preparing water for steam making. 
Two general methods are employed, namely, cold chemical precipi- 
tation followed by sedimentation, and application of heat with or 
without chemicals, usually followed by rapid filtration. The first 
process is carried on in cold-water softening plants and the second in 
feed-water heaters. 

The requirements of the water supplies for industries are so varied 
that classification of purification methods is difficult. Water prop- 
erly prepared for domestic and for boiler use is suitable for most 
industrial establishments, and it is more economical for small manu- 
facturers in large cities to buy such water from water companies than 
to maintain private supplies and purification apparatus. It is 
usually cheaper, however, for large factories to be supplied from 
separate sources, not only because of saving in actual cost of water 
but also because of the opportunity thus afforded of procuring water 
specially adapted to the needs of the factory. The common methods 
of industrial water purification are those already mentioned, or 
combinations of them, modified to meet particular needs. In a few 
industrial processes, notably the manufacture of ice by the can 
system, water practically free from all dissolved and suspended sub- 
stances is necessary, and distilled water must be manufactured. 
Distillation is expensive, though the employment of multiple-effect 
evaporators has greatly reduced the cost of operation. 

Besides the four common systems of purification many minor pro- 
cesses are used, sometimes alone but more frequently as adjuncts to 
filters or softeners. Surface waters are screened through wooden or 
iron grids or through revolving wire screens to remove sticks and 



SLOW SAND FILTRATION . 253 

leaves before other treatment. Coarse suspended matter can be 
removed by rapid filtration through ground quartz or similar material 
in units of convenient size provided with arrangements for washing 
the filtering medium, similar to those used in mechanical filters. 
Very turbid river waters are first allowed to stand in large sedimenta- 
tion basins to reduce the cost of operating the filters. Supplies 
objectionable only because of their iron content are aerated by being 
sprayed into the air or by being allowed to trickle over rocks, or by 
other methods causing evaporation of carbonic acid and absorption 
of oxygen. Such a process precipitates and oxidizes the iron in 
solution so that it can readily be removed by rapid filtration. Similar 
aeration is often employed to evaporate and oxidize dissolved gases 
that cause objectionable tastes and odors. 

Disinfection by ozone, copper sulphate, calcium hypochlorite, and 
many other substances kills organisms that may cause disease or 
impart bad odors and tastes. Purification of this character must be 
done with substances that will destroy the objectionable organisms 
without making the water poisonous to animals. Such treatment is 
especially adapted for sewage a but it is also employed in connection 
with filtration of municipal supplies. Natural purification of water 
is accomplished largely through the biological processes mentioned by 
Hazen, 6 in which the organic matter is oxidized by serving as food 
for bacteria and objectionable organisms are destroyed by the pro- 
duction of conditions unfavorable to their existence. Action of this 
kind takes place in reservoirs and lakes, and it is also relied upon in 
many processes for the artificial purification of sewage. c 

SLOW SAND FILTRATION. 

Slow sand filtration consists in causing the water to pass slowly 
downward through a layer of sand of such thickness and fineness that 
the requisite removal of suspended substances is accomplished. The 
filter is also called the continuous and the English filter. On the 
bottom of a water-tight basin commonly constructed of concrete per- 
forated tiles or pipes laid in the form of a grid are covered with a foot 
of gravel graded in size from 25 to 3 millimeters in diameter from 
bottom to top, and a layer of fine sand 3 to 4 feet in depth is put over 
the gravel, which serves only to support the sand. When water is 
applied on the surface it passes through the sand and the gravel and 
flows away through the underdrain. The suspended materials, 
including bacteria, are removed by the sand, the action of which is 
rendered more efficient by the rapid formation of a mat of finely 

a Phelps, E. B., The disinfection of sewage and sewage filter effluents; Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. 
Survey No. 229, 1909. 

& Hazen, Allen, Clean water and how to get it, New York, 1907, p. 83. 

c Winslow, C-E. A., and Phelps, E. B., Investigations on the purification of Boston sewage, with a history 
of the sewage-disposal problem: Water-Supply Paper XJ. S. Geol. Survey No. 185, 1906. 



254 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

divided sediment on the surface. When this film has become so 
thick that filtration is unduly retarded, the water is allowed to sub- 
side below the surface and about half an inch of sand is removed, after 
which filtration is resumed. The sand thus taken off is washed to 
free it from the collected impurities, and it is replaced on the beds 
after they have been reduced by successive scrapings to a thickness of 
about 20 inches. As cleaning necessitates temporary withdrawal of 
filters from service, they are divided into units of convenient size, 
usually half an acre each, so that the operation of the system may not 
be interrupted. Filters may be roofed and sodded; this facilitates 
cleaning by preventing the formation of ice, permits work on the 
filter beds in all kinds of weather, and inhibits algas growths. 

The foregoing are the essential features of a slow sand filter, but 
several adjuncts render this system more efficient. A clear-water 
basin for the filtered supply, covered to prevent deterioration of the 
water, is provided in order that the varying rate of consumption may 
not affect the rate of filtration. Clarification of turbid water is 
rendered more economical by allowing it to stand for one to three 
days, during which a large portion of the suspended matter is deposited, 
so that the time between sand scrapings is lengthened. Another 
form of pretreatment is passage through roughing, or preliminary, 
filters consisting of beds of slag, sponge, or stone, the water flowing at 
15 to 20 times the rate in sand filters. A very large proportion of the 
suspended matter is thus removed. Objectionable odors and tastes 
may be obviated by aeration before or after filtration. Killing the 
bacteria before filtration by use of ozone or other germicides has also 
been proposed. 

Slow sand filtration removes practically all the suspended matter 
and the bacteria. Color is only slightly reduced, and the hardness 
is not changed. The process is especially adapted to waters low in 
color, suspended matter, and animal pollution. Very small particles 
of clay are not removed by these filters and for waters containing 
them only for limited periods the addition of a coagulant before 
filtration has been proposed. It can readily be seen that the effi- 
ciency of this kind of filter depends largely on the character of the 
sand, as the ability to prevent the passage of suspended matter is 
governed by the size of the spaces between the sand particles. The 
rate of filtration depends on the average size of the sand particles, 
the thickness of the sand bed, the head of water, and the turbidity. 
Under ordinary conditions of operation in the United States the rate 
in slow sand filters preceded by sedimentation is 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 
gallons per acre per day. 

a Report of Hering, Fuller, and Hazen on the methods of purifying the water supply of the District of 
Columbia: Senate Rept. 2380, 56th Cong., 2d sess. 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 255 

MECHANICAL FILTRATION. 

The distinctive features of the mechanical process are the use of 
a coagulant and the high rate of filtration. The term l 'mechanical" 
is applied because of the contrivances for washing the filtering 
medium; the filter is also known as the American filter. The raw 
water during its entrance into the sedimentation basin, which is 
smaller than that used with slow sand filters, is treated with a defi- 
nite proportion of some coagulant, which forms by its decomposition 
a gelatinous precipitate that unites and incloses the suspended mate- 
rial, including the bacteria, and absorbs the organic coloring matter. 
This combined action destroys color and makes suspended particles 
larger and therefore more readily removable. When aluminum sul- 
phate, the coagulant most commonly used, is decomposed aluminum 
hydrate is precipitated and the sulphate radicle remains in solution, 
replacing an equivalent amount of carbonate, bicarbonate, or hy- 
droxyl radicles. The natural alkalinity of many waters is sufficient 
to effect this reaction. According to Hazen a 1 part per million of or- 
dinary aluminum sulphate should be allowed 0.6 part of alkalinity 
expressed as CaC0 3 to insure complete decomposition. If the alka- 
linity is not high enough, part of the aluminum sulphate remains in 
solution and good coagulation does not take place. Therefore lime 
or soda ash is added if the alkalinity is too low. The proper amount 
of aluminum sulphate to be used is determined by the amounts of 
color, organic matter, and suspended matter, and by the fineness of 
the suspended matter, and it is best ascertained by direct experimen- 
tation with the water to be purified. Ferrous sulphate is sometimes 
used instead of aluminum sulphate; lime must always be added with 
it in order to bring about proper coagulation. 

The water with the coagulant is allowed to stand three or four hours 
in the sedimentation basin, where a large proportion of suspended par- 
ticles is deposited. It is then passed rapidly through beds of sand or 
ground stone to remove the rest of the suspended matter. Many 
filters now in use are built of wood or iron in cylindrical form 10 to 20 
feet in diameter, and some are designed so that filtration can be has- 
tened by pressure. The sand, 30 to 50 inches deep, rests on a metallic 
floor containing perforations large enough to allow ready issue of the 
water but small enough to prevent passage of sand grains. When 
the filter has become clogged the flow of water is reversed, filtered wa- 
ter being forced upward through the sand to wash it and to remove 
the impurities, which pass over the top of the filter with the wasted 
water. A revolving rake with long prongs projecting downward into 
the sand mixes it during washing and prevents it from becoming 
graded into spots of coarse or fine particles. In recently constructed 

a Hazen, Allen, Report of filtration commission of the city of Pittsburg, 1899, p. 57. 



256 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

works rectangular filters 300 to 1,300 square feet in area have been 
built, and compressed air forced through the sand at intervals is used 
instead of a revolving rake for agitating the sand during washing. 
Larger orifices in the strainers are also being used and the introduction 
of sand is prevented by fine gravel over the strainer pipes. The rate 
of filtration is from 80,000,000, to 180,000,000 gallons per acre per day. 
The time between washings is six to twelve bourns, depending princi- 
pally on the turbidity of the water applied to the filter, and 4 to 8 per 
cent of the water filtered is consumed in washing. 

Mechanical filtration removes practically all suspended matter, 
reduces the color to an amount that is unobjectionable, and part of 
the dissolved iron is removed under some conditions. The perma- 
nent hardness of the water is increased in proportion to the amount of 
sulphate radicle added as aluminum sulphate, and if only enough 
lime to decompose the coagulant is added, the total hardness is 
increased. If larger amounts of lime are added, however, the hard- 
ness is reduced. If soda ash is used in place of lime the foaming constit- 
uents of the water are increased. The chemicals are always added in 
solution. As this method of filtration is used almost entirely for 
river waters, with fluctuating contents of suspended and dissolved 
matter, proper operation requires constant and intelligent attention. 

COLD-WATER SOFTENING. 

The principal object of water softening is to remove the substances 
that cause incrustations in boilers, particularly calcium and magne- 
sium, and to neutralize those that cause corrosion. Chemicals of 
known strength properly dissolved in water are added to the raw sup- 
ply in such proportion as to precipitate all the dissolved constituents 
that can be economically removed by such treatment. The water is 
then allowed to stand long enough to permit the precipitate to settle, 
after which the clear effluent is drawn off; or, if more rapid operation 
is desired, filters of the rapid type may be used after sedimentation. 
The water softeners on the market differ only in the precipitant, in the 
filtering medium if one is used, and in the mechanism regulating the 
incorporation of the chemicals with the water. 

Among the substances that have been proposed as precipitants are 
sodium carbonate, silicate, hydrate, fluoride, and phosphate, barium 
carbonate, oxide, and hydrate, and calcium oxide, but of these sub- 
stances lime and soda ash are almost exclusively used on account of 
their excellent action and comparative cheapness. When soda ash 
(Xa 2 C0 3 ) and lime dissolved in water to form a solution of calcium 
hydrate [Ca(OH) 2 ] are added to a water in proper proportion, free 
acids are neutralized, free carbon dioxide is removed, the bicarbonate 
radicle is decomposed, and iron, aluminum, and magnesium hydrates 



FEED-WATEK HEATING. 257 

and calcium carbonate are precipitated. These four basic sub- 
stances are removed to the extent of the solubility of these compounds 
in water, and the calcium added as lime is also precipitated, but the 
sodium from the soda ash remains in solution in the softened water. 
The precipitate in settling takes down with ife a large proportion of 
the suspended matter. The filters are thin beds of coke, sponge, 
excelsior, wool, or similar material, through which the water is passed 
at a very rapid rate to remove particles that have not subsided in the 
tanks. 

Such treatment with lime and soda ash removes a large percentage 
of the iron, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, carbonates, bicarbonates, 
and free carbon dioxide and suspended matter, and part of the silica 
and the organic matter; in other words, the incrusting constituents 
are removed. Sodium, potassium, sulphates, and chlorides are left 
in solution, and the alkalies are increased in proportion to the quan- 
tity of soda ash that is added; that is, the foaming constituents are 
increased, and this fixes the maximum amount of incrustants that 
can be treated. The minimum amount of incrustants in a treated 
water is determined by the solubility of the precipitated substances 
and by the completeness of the reaction between the added chemicals 
and the dissolved matter. It is about 90 parts per million. The 
sulphate radicle can be removed by using barium compounds, which 
precipitate barium sulphate, but the poisonous effect of even small 
amounts of barium is a great objection to its use. The chlorides are 
not changed in amount by water softening. The chemicals should 
be very thoroughly mixed with the raw water and sufficient time 
should be allowed for complete reaction, which proceeds rather 
slowly, for otherwise precipitation will occur later in pipe lines or in 
boilers. 

FEED-WATER HEATING. 

Water heaters are designed primarily to utilize waste heat in sta- 
tionary boiler plants by raising the temperature of the feed water 
and thereby lessening the work of the boilers themselves. This is 
their primary function, but some purification of water occurs in them 
and many heaters have been specially constructed to take advantage 
of that effect. The heat is derived from exhaust steam or from flue 
gases, and the heaters utilizing steam are either open— that is, 
operated at atmospheric pressure — or closed and operated at or near 
boiler pressure. In accordance with these three conditions, which 
result in distinct purifying effects, feed-water heaters are classified as 
open or closed or economizers, the last being those using flue gases. 
Open heaters are best adapted for removing large quantities of scale- 
forming material. In most forms the steam enters at the bottom 

46448°— wsp 254—10 17 



258 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

and the water at the top. and intimate contact between the two is 
obtained by spraying the water or by allowing it to trickle over or to 
splash against plates. In this manner the water is quickly heated 
nearly to boiling temperature. Dissolved gases are expelled, the 
bicarbonate radicle is decomposed, and iron, aluminum, part of the 
magnesium, and calcium equivalent to the carbonates after decom- 
position of the bicarbonates are precipitated as hydrates, oxides, or 
carbonates under varying conditions of temperature, pressure, and 
time. The precipitate agglomerates the particles of suspended 
matter and makes them more readily removable by sedimentation 
and filtration. The slowness with which the reactions take place 
and the presence of acid radicles other than carbonates to hold the 
bases in solution prevent complete removal of calcium and magne- 
sium. The addition of soda ash in proper proportion, however, 
effects fairly complete precipitation of the alkaline earths, and appa- 
ratus for constant introduction of this chemical in solution may be 
provided. After the precipitate has been formed the water passes 
through filters of burlap, excelsior, straw, hay. wool. coke, or similar 
material, arranged in units that can be readily cleaned. Open heat- 
ers operated without a chemical precipitant remove substances that 
are soft and bulky and leave in the water the constituents that form 
hard scale: therefore scale from water treated in such heaters is not 
so great in amount but is harder than that formed by the raw water. 

In closed heaters the water is passed either through metal tubes 
surrounded by steam or around steam pipes, and manholes or other 
openings are provided for cleaning the scale from the tubes. As the 
water is heated under pressure some precipitation takes place, but 
closed heaters are not nearly so efficient in this respect as open heaters 
because there is no provision for the escape of the gases liberated from 
the water. 

Economizers consist essentially of water tubes set in the flues lead- 
ing from the furnaces. Facilities are provided for cleaning scale from 
the inside and soot from the outside of the tubes. As economizers 
are heated by flue gases, the water in the tubes under boiler pressure 
can be heated to a much higher temperature than in open or closed 
heaters, and boiler conditions as described on pages 23S-244 are 
approximated. The precipitation of incrustants varies greatly with 
the normally fluctuating temperature of the flue gases. 

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE WATERS. 

WATER FROM THE UNCONSOLIDATED DEPOSITS. 

In the tables in the body of the report 169 analyses are given of 
waters from wells drawing their supplies from the unconsolidated 
deposits of sand, clay, gravel, and alluvium overlying the solid rock. 



QUALITY OF WATERS. 259 

The sources of water range in depth from 10 to 230 feet. They can 
not be differentiated, except in respect to depth of the well and 
geographic position, not only because it was impossible to procure 
information regarding the depth and character of the water-bearing 
strata of each well, but chiefly because most of the deeper wells yield 
mixed waters from two or more beds. Indeed, sharp distinction 
between the different water-bearing sands and gravels, though inter- 
esting, Avould hardly be profitable, on account of the heterogeneous 
nature 6f the unconsolidated deposits and the extremely local value 
of such detailed study in comparison with its importance in reveal- 
ing the chemical composition of the waters. 

The quality of the waters from the unconsolidated deposits, as 
indicated by averaging all the analyses, is shown in line A of the 
following table. Many of the analyses are incomplete, because the 
alkalies were not determined; and the figure for sodium and potas- 
sium is therefore the one most likely to be in error in all the averages. 
In order to ascertain whether drift waters from different parts of the 
region are similar it was divided into four parts by east and west 
lines and the analyses for each part were averaged as a group. The 
figures in lines B, C, D, and E represent the average quality of the 
waters from the unconsolidated deposits in the north, north middle, 
south middle, and south tiers of counties respectively. Bicar- 
bonates, sulphates, and total solids show definite increase from 
north to south ; the other figures are either similar or inconclusive on 
account of the small number of quantities averaged. In total 
mineral content the average for wells in the north tier is 72 parts 
lower and in the south tier 108 parts higher than the average for all 
in line A; yet inspection of the individual analyses in each group 
proves that waters from wells in different parts of the same town- 
ship may diverge from one another far more widely in essential char- 
acteristics than waters from different tiers of counties. Many waters 
in the northern part of the region carry more than 600 parts of total 
solids and many in the southern part less than 400 parts. Therefore 
it must be concluded that the quality of water from the unconsoli- 
dated deposits has no relation to geographic position in this region, 
except that possibly the waters in the southern part may be slightly 
more highly mineralized than those in the northern part. 



260 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NOBTH-GENTBAL INDIANA. 



Quality of waters from the unconsolidated deposits. 
[Parts per million except as otherwise stated.] 



Num- 
ber of Silica 
analv- (Si0 2 ). 



Iron 
(Fe). 



Cal- 
cium 
(Ca). 



! Sodium p 

Magne-: and bona - te 

sium potas- "arlir-le 

(Mg). sium ™g cle 

Na+K . (LU3) - 



Bicar- 


Sul- 


Ni- 


bonate 


phate 


trate 


radicle 


radicle radicle 


(HC0 3 ). 


(SO<). 


(N0 3 ). 



Chlor- 
ine 
(CI). 



Total 
solids. 



A . . . . 


169 


B.... 


71 


C 


37 


D.... 


37 


E.... 


2± 


F.... 


45 


G.... 





4.1 



as 
7 


s 

9 

8 
3 



M 



98 



110 
20. 



18 

13 
11 

9 
44 
21 

4.1 



0.0 


306 


76 


2.8 


.0 


290 


57 


3.7 


.0 


292 


76 


2.0 


.0 


319 


98 


2.2 


.0 


359 


100 


2.5 


.0 


310 


136 


3.3 


34.6 




17.5 


.6 



47 

76 
18 
23 
45 
50 
10.8 



467 
395 
464 
520 
575 
619 



a Fe 2 3 . 

A. Average of all analyses of water from unconsolidated deposits. 

B, C. D. and E. Average of all analyses arranged in four groups from north to south geographically. 

F. Average of analyses of water from wells less than 30 feet deep. Xa+K calculated. 

G. Percentage composition 01 anhydrous residue computed from A. 

Consideration of quality in reference to depth reveals no striking 
relation except that niany shallow wells are more highly mineralized 
than deeper ones. Forty-five of the 169 waters are from wells less 
than 30 feet deep, and the average of their analyses is given in line F 
of the foregoing table, the alkali figure being computed from the 
other estimates. All the constituents are higher than in line A, and 
calcium and sulphates are especially high. The difference is more 
marked in the southern than in the northern hah of the territory, for 
the total solids of all waters from shallow wells reported from the 
two southern tiers of counties exceed 1.000 parts. The small num- 
ber of analyses available for discussion, however, makes it uncertain 
whether this difference is general, and it is therefore unwise to indulge 
in speculation on this topic. 

Though the individual waters in the drift differ from each other in 
their concentration and to a less extent in the relative amounts of 
mineral matter that they contain, they are all of the same general 
type. They contain from 250 to 1,000 parts per million of total 
solids and they range from fair to bad for boiler use. Some of them 
contain so much iron that they are undesirable for laundry use, and 
most of them carry calcium and magnesium enough to make it nec- 
essary to soften them with chemicals before using them for washing. 
Generally the waters are acceptable for drinking. The average total 
hardness expressed as CaC0 3 is 360 parts per million, and the average 
total incrustants are 340 parts per million, or 2.S2 pounds per 1,000 
gallons. The average chemical composition of the anhydrous resi- 
due, given in line G, indicates that the waters are of the alkaline 
class, with bicarbonates largely predominating and with sulphates, 
chlorides, and alkalies usually present only in nominal amounts. 
The ratio of calcium to magnesium averages 3 and ranges normally 
from 2 to 5. 



QUALITY OF WATEKS. 



261 



WATER FROM THE ROCK. 

Two distinct types of water are contained in the formations under- 
lying the drift in this area, and the relative position of the rocks that 
bear them can readily be understood from the generalized section 
on page 36. The lower limestones and sandstones yield hard, salt 
waters, generally carrying hydrogen sulphide; the upper limestones 
yield waters that are hard but not salty and are not impregnated with 
hydrogen sulphide except by intrusion from below. In the tables in 
the body of this report 88 analyses are given of waters coming wholly 
or mainly from the rock, and five of the analyses evidently represent 
the supply from the lower formations. Though these five waters 
differ considerably from each other in concentration, their average, 
as shown in lines A and B of the following table, gives a fair idea of 
their character: 

Quality of waters from the rocks. 











[Parts per million except 


as otherwise stated.] 










Num- 
ber of 
analy- 
ses. 


Silica 
(Si0 2 ). 


Iron 
(Fe). 


Cal- 
cium 
(Ca). 


Mag- 
nesium 
(Mg). 


Sodium 
and po- 
tassium 
(Na+K). 


Carbo- 
nate 
radicle 
(C0 3 ). 


Bicar- 
bonate 
radicle 
(HC0 3 ). 


Sul- 
phate 
radicle 
(SO4). 


Nitrate 
radicle 
(NO3V 


Chlo- 
rine 
(04). 


Total 
solids. 


A.... 
B... 


5 
5 
83 
169 
83 
169 


14 
.4 

18 

18 
4.4 
4.1 


0.7 
6.0 

1.8 

.8 

a. 4 

a. 3 


205 

6.7 
82 
91 

19.6 
20.9 


104 
3.4 

31 

31 
7.4 
7.1 


820 
26.6 
27 
18 
6.5 
4.1 


0.0 

6.4 

.0 

.0 

40.2 

34.6 


400 


170 
5.5 
70 
76 
16.8 
17.5 


""'o.'o' 

1.0 

2.8 

.2 

.6 


1,570 
51.0 
19 
47 
4.5 
10.8 


3,890 


C... 

D.... 
E.... 


341 
306 


466 
467 


F 













a Fe203. 

A. Average of analyses of water from lower limestones. 

B. Percentage composition of anhydrous residue, computed from A. 

C. Average of analyses of water from upper, or fresh-water, limestones. 

D. Average of analyses of water from unconsolidated deposits. 

E. Percentage composition of anhydrous residue, computed from C. 

F. Percentage composition of anhydrous residue, computed from D. 

The waters from the lower formations are very high in mineral 
content, and especially in chlorides, sulphates, alkalies, and calcium, 
being unfit for domestic or industrial use. These and other waters 
strongly polluted by them can readily be recognized by their chemical 
composition. The total solids exceed 700, the chlorides exceed 100, 
generally being 400 or 500, and there is commonly an odor of hydro- 
gen sulphide. The large amount of magnesium in proportion to 
calcium is also distinctive. Such waters are encountered in drilling 
for gas and oil. The mixture of petroleum and salt water pumped 
from oil wells is run into tanks and allowed to settle, after which the 
water is drawn off and wasted, as a very highly mineralized liquid 
containing some petroleum and having a yellow to black color and 
an odor like a mixture of kerosene and rotten eggs. Part of it soaks 
into the ground near the pumping station, polluting the fresh-water 
supplies, and part runs into the streams, materially altering their 
composition. The problem of disposing of these oil-well wastes has 



262 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

been discussed by Bowman ; a and it resolves itself into the practical 
question whether the ground waters or the streams shall be polluted. 
When wells drilled for oil are unproductive or when they cease to 
yield paying quantities of oil, the casings are often drawn out. 
Sometimes the casings are plugged above the salt water and split 
or partly withdrawn to permit entrance of water from the fresh- 
water limestones, so that the wells may yield potable supplies. In 
either case unless the well holes are carefully plugged above the 
"Trenton" limestone the salt water rises, mixes with the fresh water 
in the upper strata, and destroys sources of good supply, not only at 
that point, but also over an extensive area by infiltration. The 
danger of polluting fresh waters in this manner has repeatedly been 
referred to in the annual reports of the Indiana natural gas inspector, 
and state laws require proper plugging of abandoned holes. 6 

The mean composition of the water from the upper limestones, as 
computed from 83 analyses, is given in lines C and E of the foregoing 
table. Comparison with lines D and F draws attention to the great 
similarity between these waters and those of the drift. The lime- 
stone waters average lower in chlorides and higher in bicarbonates, a 
feature that makes them better for boiler use; many carry large 
amounts of iron, and the average iron content is more than twice 
that of the drift waters. Inspection of the individual analyses 
shows that the waters of the upper limestones differ locally from one 
another as much as the drift waters do, but that there is no tendency 
to increased mineral content toward the south. All these facts indi- 
cate that no general distinctions can be made between the quality of 
the waters from the drift and the quality of those from the fresh- 
water limestones, but that marked local differences may occur. 

SURFACE WATER. 

From August, 1906, to September, 1907, daily samples of water 
were collected from streams in or near the region under discussion 
and united in sets of ten consecutive samples, and analyses of the 
composites thus obtained permit computation of maximum, mini- 
mum, and average conditions. The results in detail have been pub- 
lished in Water-Supply Paper 236. c Samples of water from Wabash 
River at Logansport were collected by Mr. John Bender in midstream 
above the entrance of Eel River; lines A, B, and C in the following 
table give the mean, maximum, and minimum values, respectively, 
of the estimates. Wabash River was examined also at Vincennes, 
where Mr. L. J. Weisenberger collected samples from the waterworks 

a Bowman, Isaiah, Disposal of oil-well wastes at Marion, Ind.: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey 
No. 113, 1905, p. 36. 

b Thirty-second Ann. Rept. Indiana Dept. Geology and Nat. Res., 1907, pp. 590 et seq. 

t Dole, R. B., The quality of surface waters in the United States, pt. 1: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. 
Survey No. 236, 1910. 



QUALITY OF WATERS. 



263 



intake. The mean, maximum, and minimum values for the water 
at Vincennes are given in lines D, E, and F. At Indianapolis sam- 
ples of water from West Fork of White River were taken in mid- 
stream under the direction of Mr. H. E. Jordan. Lines G, H, and I 
show the mean and the limits during the year for White River at 
Indianapolis. East Fork of White River was tested at Azalia, where 
samples were collected by Mr. L. E. Davis, and the summarized 
results are reported in lines J, K, and L. For comparison the average 
quality of the water of Lake Huron is given in line M, as computed 
from analyses of 12 monthly samples taken at Port Huron, Mich. 
The percentage composition of the anhydrous residues, computed 
from the mean quality of the same waters, is reported in lines N, O, 
P, Q, and R thus : Line N, percentage composition of the anhydrous 
residue of water from Wabash River at Logansport; line O, the same 
from Wabash River at Vincennes; P, West Fork of White River at 
Indianapolis; Q, East Fork of White River at Azalia; R, Lake Huron 
at Port Huron, Mich. 



Quality of the surface waters. 
[Parts per million, except as otherwise stated.] 

















, 


03 












































u, 










C3 
















1 

3 


s 

03 

a 
© 

ft 

w 

D 

m 


6 

m 

03 

m 


S 

a 
o 


O 

£ 

o 




si 
gs 

•2.2 

o 


C3 . 

a 

O 

C3 

o 


■s 

go 
;-. 

C3 

o 

s 


-a 

C3^ 

u o 

03 w 

,d 

ft 

GO 


^ . 

1 
2 


© 
o 

o 


«3 

s 

o 

"3 
o 


A 


132 


117 


14 


0.23 


82 


35 


142 


0.0 


234 


79 


5.9 


292 


807 


B 


900 


802 


38 


1.2 


133 


77 


478 


7.9 


317 


138 


18 


960 


1,940 


c 


Tr. 


Tr. 


5.0 


Tr. 


43 


15 


22 


.0 


116 


42 


.0 


35 


309 


D 


172 


193 


13 


.24 


61 


22 


25 


.0 


230 


55 


6.4 


36 


336 


E 


625 


656 


36 


1.8 


75 


30 


60 


.0 


264 


73 


18 


104 


504 


F 


15 


18 


3.0 


Tr. 


45 


15 


8.1 


.0 


147 


37 


1.1 


8.3 


209 


G 


39 


38 


14 


.15 


74 - 


29 


48 


.0 


291 


58 


6.1 


78 


450 


H 


235 


124 


27 


.8 


95 


43 


138 


6.5 


353 


125 


14 


262 


798 


I 


Tr. 


Tr. 


8.4 


Tr. 


48 


17 


14 


.0 


205 


36 


.0 


13 


245 


J 


52 


48 


15 


.14 


61 


23 


9.5 


.0 


276 


30 


5.6 


3.1 


279 


K 


245 


240 


29 


1.2 


70 


29 


16 


12 


320 


40 


12 


8.0 


334 


L 


3 


Tr. 


6.6 


Tr. 


42 


15 


5.2 


.0 


176 


18 


.5 


1.3 


196 


M 


Tr. 


Tr. 


12 


.04 


24 


7.0 


4.4 


1.8 


100 


6.2 


.4 


2.6 


108 




P] 


SRCE1S 


rTAGE 


COMI 


OSITI 


ON OI 


THE 


ANH1 


DROU 


S RES 


IDUEf 






N 






1.8 
3.9 
3.1 
5.3 


a.O 
a.l 
a.O 
a.l 


10.7 
18.4 
16.4 

21.5 


4.6 
6.6 
6.4 
8.1 


18.5 
7.5 

10.7 
3.3 


15.1 
34.1 
31.8 
48.0 




10.3 
16.6 
12.9 
10.6 


.8 
2.0 
1.4 
2.0 


38.2 

10.8 

17.3 

1.1 













P 








Q 








R 






11.1 


a.Q 


22.3 


6.5 


4.1 


47.4 




5.8 


• 4 


2.4 













a Fe20 3 . 

A, B, C. Wabash River at Logansport; analyses by W. M. Barr, H. S. Spaulding, and Walton Van 

Winkle. 
D, E, F. Wabash River at Vincennes; analyses by W. M. Barr, H. S. Spaulding, and Walton Van Winkle. 
G, H, I. West Fork of White River at Indianapolis; analyses by W. M. Barr, H. S. Spaulding, and Walton 

Van Winkle. 
J, K, L. East Fork of White River at Azalia; analvses by W. M. Barr, H. S. Spaulding, Walton Van 

Winkle, R. B. Dole, Chase Palmer, and W. D. Collins. 
M. Lake Huron at Port Huron, Mich.; analyses by R. B. Dole and M. G. Roberts. 
N, O, P, Q, R. Percentage composition of the anhydrous residues computed from A, D, G, J, and M, 

respectively 



264 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 

The most noticeable feature in the foregoing table is the unusually 
high mineral content of Wabash River at Logansport, which averages 
807 parts per million, as compared with 466 and 467 for the ground 
waters of the same region; another noticeable feature is the great 
fluctuation in mineral content, which ranges from 309 to 1 ; 940 parts 
per million. From line N it can be seen that the water is particularly 
high in alkalies and chlorides, and inspection of the individual 
analyses shows that high chlorides and alkalies are always coincident 
with high total solids. The chief reason for these phenomena is 
undoubtedly varying pollution by salt water from oil wells, as noted 
on page 261, because surface waters from regions similar to this in 
rainfall and rock formations have not this peculiar compostion. 
Wabash River and its southern tributaries above Logansport, the 
Mississinewa and the Salamonie (see PL I), receive a large amount 
of drainage from the oil belt, and physical evidence of this pollution, 
such as oil-stained and blackened vegetation, is encountered in the 
beds of streams. The scale formed in boilers using such water would 
be hard, and the water would also foam and corrode the boilers; at 
times of highest mineralization the water is unfit for boiler use. 
Though Vincennes is not in the region under discussion, analyses of 
the river water at that city have been introduced in order to show 
the improvement effected by dilution. The great change in con- 
centration can be appreciated by comparing lines A and D. West 
Fork of White River at Indianapolis gives evidence of some oil-well 
drainage, but not to so great extent as Wabash River. (See lines 
G, H, and I.) The mean quality of this water is strikingly similar 
to that of the underground water. It differs principally in being 
higher in chlorides and alkalies and correspondingly lower in bicar- 
bonates. As a source of industrial supply it is far superior to Wabash 
River at Logansport. East Fork of White River, sampled at Azalia, 
is not contaminated by oil wells, and its water is more or less typical 
of what the other rivers would be in their normal or unpolluted state 
and of streams in this section that do not receive oil-well drainage. 

SUMMARY. 

Figures representing the average chemical composition of the 
principal sources of water supply in this region are given in the fol- 
lowing table. Line A shows the average of five analyses of waters 
from the lower limestones; line B, the average of 83 analyses of 
waters from the upper limestones; line C, the average of 169 analyses 
of waters from the unconsolidated deposits. The average mineral 
contents of the waters of the Wabash at Logansport and the White 
at Indianapolis are given in lines D and E, respectively. 



FIELD ASSAYS. 

Average quality of waters in north-central Indiana. 
[Parts per million.] 



265 





Silica 
(Si0 2 ). 


Iron 
(Fe). 


Cal- 
cium 
(Ca). 


Magne- 
sium 
(Mg). 


Sodium 
and po- 
tassium 
(Na+K). 


Car- 
bonate 
radicle 
(C0 3 ). 


Bicar- 
bonate 
radicle 
(HCO s ). 


Sul- 
phate 
radicle 
(SO<). 


Nitrate 
radicle 

(N0 3 ). 


Chlo- 
rine 
(CI). 


Total 
solids. 


A 


14 


0.7 


205 


104 


820 


0.0 


400 


170 




1,570 


3,890 


B 


18 


1.8 


82 


31 


27 


.0 


341 


70 


1.0 


19 


466 


C 


18 


.8 


91 


31 


18 


.0 


306 


76 


2.8 


47 


467 


D 


14 


.2 


82 


35 


142 


.0 


234 


79 


5.9 


292 


807 


E 


14 


.2 


74 


29 


48 


.0 


291 


58 


6.1 


78 


450 



The chief points of interest in this table are the high mineralization 
of the waters from the lower limestones and from Wabash River and 
the great similarity in composition of the waters from the upper 
limestones, the drift, and White River. As stated in the previous 
paragraphs, however, it should be recognized that the river waters 
fluctuate a great deal in composition and that the waters of local 
wells differ greatly from one another. 

FIELD ASSAYS. 

The following table gives some field assays of water made in 1904 
during a survey of industrial water conditions in Wabash River 
valley. The methods of assay and computation are outlined on 
pages 230 et seq. The tests at Greenfield were made by Herman 
Stabler; the others were made by R. B. Dole. These results, though 
necessarily cruder and less reliable than laboratory analyses, serve 
to amplify and to corroborate the statements and conclusions noted 
in the preceding pages and indicate a field of practical usefulness 
for assays of this nature. 



266 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF NORTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. 



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INDEX. 



A. Page. 

Acids in water, effect of 245 

Acknowledgments to those aiding 16-17 

Acton, water supply at 183 

Adamsboro, water supply at 93 

Advance, water supply at 75 

well at, data on 76 

water of, analysis of 77 

Akron, water supply at 114 

wells at 115 

water of, analyses of 116 

Alexandria, public supply at 68, 170-171 

wells at and near 168, 174 

record of 171 

water of, analyses of 175 

Alhambra Park, wells at : 96 

Alliance, water supply at 173 

Alluvium, character and distribution of 32-33 

flowing wells in , 59 

figures showing 59 

water in 33 

See also particular counties. 

Amboy, water supply at 201 

American Railway Engineers and Mainte- 
nance of Way Association, cited 243-244 

Amo, water supply at 148 

wellat 148 

Analysis, methods of 230-232 

results of, expression of 232-233 

Anderson, public supply at 63, 68, 169-170 

wells near , 168, 174 

record of 170 

water of, analyses of 175 

Anoka, water supply at 93 

wells at, data on 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Arcadia, water supply at 134 

wells at and near 132, 136 

water of, analysis of 137 

Arcana, water supply at 124 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Argos, public supply at 68, 191-192 

wells at and near 189, 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Aroma, water supply at 135 

wells at and near 132, 136 

Artesian areas, map of 58 

See also particular counties. 

Ashley, G. H., work of 15 

Assays, field, results of 266-267 

Athens, water supply at 115 

Atlanta, water supply at 134-135 

wells at 136, 219 

water of, analysis of 137 



Page. 

Atwood, water supply at 163 

Available water, definition of 52-53 

Ayr, water supply at 193 

Azalia, water at, analysis of 263 

B. 

Bacteria, presence of, in water 235-236 

Bakers Corners, water supply at 135 

Barnard, H. E., work of 15,231 

Beard, water supply at 100 

Bedding planes, description of 50-51 

movement of water along 47-48, 51, 119 

figures showing 48,118 

Belleville, water supply at 148 

Ben Davis, water supply at 183 

Bennetts Switch, water supply at 201 

Bigspring, water supply at 75 

Blatchley, W. S., work of 14, 15, 55 

Blue Grass, water supply at 115 

Blue River, drainage of 138 

water of, analysis of 266 

Boiler compounds, character and use of 241-242 

Boilers, corrosion of 239-240 

water for 238-244 

Boone County, artesian areas in 72-73 

geology and ground water of 70-73 

municipal supplies in 73-79 

topography of 70 

wells in, data on 76 

water of, analyses of 77 

Bored wells, description of 56 

Boston, water supply at 108 

Bourbon, public supply at 68, 192 

well at 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Bowlder clay. See Till. 

Bownocker, J. A., cited 119 

Boxley, water supply at 135 

Boyleston, water supply at 100 

wells near 100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Brandy wine Creek, water of, analysis of 266 

wells on 140 

Bremen, water supply at 68, 191 

wells at and near 189, 193 

water of, analyses of 194 

Bridgeport, water supply at 183 

well at, record of 182 

Brightwood, public supply at 68, 182 

Bringhurst, water supply at 84 

wells at, data on 85 

Bristol, water supply at 107 

well: at , ,...,...,. 108 

269 



270 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Broad Ripple, water supply at 183 

wells at 184 

record of 181 

water of , "analysis of; 185 

Brownsburg, water supply at 147 

wells at 148 

water of, analysis of 149 

Bruce Lake, water supply at 115 

Bucket, water lifting by 62 

Bunker Hill, water supply at 201 

wells at and near 199, 202 

water of, analyses of 203 

Burket, water supply at 163 

wells near 161, 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Burlington, water supply at 83 

wells near 81 , 85, 153 , 1 56 

water of, analysis of 86, 153 

Burr Oak, water supply at 193 

well at 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Burrows, water supply at 84 

wells near 81,85 

C. 

Calcium in water, presence of 237-238, 239, 247 

Camden, public supply at 68, 83 

wells at, data on 85 

water of, analysis of 86 

Capps, S. R., on occurrence of Indiana wa- 
ters 13-229 

Carbonates in water, effects of 248 

Carboniferous rocks, description of 36,44 

water in 36 

See also particular formations. 

Carmel, water supply at 135 

wells at and near 136, 184 

Carroll, wells at and near 85, 153 

water of, analysis of 86 

Carroll County, artesian areas in 80-81 

geology and ground water of 78-81 

municipal supplies in 81-86 

topography of 78 

wells in, data on 85 

water of, analyses of 86 

Cartersburg, water supply at 148 

wells at 148 

Cary, A. A., cited 241 

Cass County, artesian areas in 89-90 

geology and ground water of 87-90 

municipal supplies in 90-93 

topography of 87 

wells in, data on 93 

water of, analyses of 94 

Cassville, water supply at 155 

wells near 156 

Castleton, water supply at 183 

Center, water supply at 155 

wells at and near 156 

water of, analysis of 157 

Center Lake, water of, analysis of 266 

Charlottesville, water supply at 141 

Chemical qualities of water, discussion of. . 236-238 

Chemicals, purification by 252, 255-258 

Chesterfield, water supply at 173 

Chili, water supply at 201 



Page. 

Chlorine in water, effect of 237, 248-249 

Cincinnatian series, character and distribu- 
tion of 40 

water in 40-41 

Clapp, F. G. , work of 15 

Cicero, water supply at 134 

wells at and near 131, 136 

water of, analysis of 137 

Cicero Creek, wells on 217 

Clarksville, water supply at 135 

Clay, water in 53 

Claypool, water supply at 163 

wells near 161, 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Clayton, water supply at 148 

wells at and near 148 

water of, analysis of 149 

Clermont, water supply at 183 

Cleveland, water supply at 142 

Climate, character of 19-21 

Clinton County, artesian areas in 96-97 

geology and ground water of 95-97 

municipal supplies in 97-100 

topography of 95 

wells in, data on 100 

water of, analyses of 101 

Clinton shales, character and distribution of. . 41 

Clunette, water supply at 163 

Clymers, water supply at 93 

Coatsville, water supply at 147 

wells at 148 

Colfax, water supply at 98-99 

wells at and near 72-100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Color in water, effect of 235, 246 

Columbia City, water at, analysis of 266 

Combination wells, description of 57 

Converse, public supply at 68, 200 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 203 

Corrosion of boilers, cause of 239-240 

Courter, water supply at 201 

Crenothrix, presence of, in water 235, 246 

Crops, character of 23 

Crumstown, water supply at 211 

Culver, water supply at 68, 192 

wells at and near 189, 193 

water of, analyses of 194 

Cumberland, water supply at 183 

Curtisville, water supply at 219 

well at 219 

Cutler, water supply at 84 

wells at 79 

D. 

Danville, public supply at 68, 146 

wells at and near 145, 148 

record of 145 

view of 168 

water of, analysis of 149 

Darwin, water supply at 84 

Deacon, water supply at 93 

Deedsville, water supply at 201 

wells at and near 199, 202 

water of, analysis of 203 



INDEX. 



271 



Page. 

Deep waters, movements of 48-49 

source of 49 

Deer Creek, water of, analysis of 266 

wells on 81, 85, 89-90, 153, 199 

section at, figure showing 90 

Deer Creek (city), water supply at 84 

well at, water of, analysis of 86 

Delong, water supply at 115 

wells at - 115 

water of, analysis of 116 

Delphi, public supply at 65, 68, 81-82 

springs near 82 

water at, analyses of 266 

wells at 79-81 

record of 80 

water of, analysis of 86 

Deming, water supply at 135 

Denver, water supply at 200 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 203 

Devonian rocks, character and distribution of. 36, 
44, 80, 89, 96, 131, 140, 151, 178-179, 217 

water in 36, 44, 80, 89, 140 

See also particular formations. 

Disko, water supply at 115 

well at, water of, analysis of 116 

Dole, R. B., on chemical character of Indiana 

waters... 230-267 

work of 265 

Domestic purposes, water for 254-258 

Donaldson, wells at or near 189, 193 

wells at or near, water of, analysis of 194 

Dora, water supply at 227 

Dover, water supply at 75 

Drainage, description of 17-19 

Drift, character and distribution of 27-32 

deposition of 24-25 

flowing wells from 58-59 

figure showing , 59 

springs in 53-54 

figure showing 54 

water in 15-16, 28-29, 31, 32, 258-260 

movement of 47-48 

figure showing 48 

See also Till; Moraine; Outwash. 

Drilled wells, description of 56, 57 

Driven wells, description of 56-57 

Duck Creek, wells on 132 

Dundee, water supply at 173 

well near 174 

Dunkirk, wells at, data on 93 

wells at, water of, analysis of 94 

Dunlaps, water supply at 108 

Durbin, water supply at 135 



Eagle Creek, wells on 73 

Eagletown, water supply at 135 

Eden, water supply at 142 

Edna Mills, water supply at 100 

Eel River, water of, analysis of 266 

Ekin, water supply at 219 

Elkhart, public supply at 68, 108-105 

wells at and near 104, 108 

record of 105 

water of, analyses of 109 



Page. 

Elkhart County, artesian areas in 104 

geology and ground water of 103 

municipal supplies in 104-108 

topography of 102 

wells in, data on 108 

water of, analyses of 109 

Elkwood, public supply at 68 

wells near 174 

water of, analyses of 175 

Emporia, water supply at 173 

Erosion, progress of 25 

Etna Green, water supply at 163 

wells near 161, 164 

water of, analyses of 165 

F. 
Fairfield, water supply at 155 

wells near 152 

Fairmount, public supply at 68, 122 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Farrville, water supply of 124 

Field work, extent of 15 

Filtration, mechanical, processes of 252, 255-256 

Filtration, sand, processes of 252, 253-254 

Fishersburg, water supply at 173 

Fisher's Switch, water supply at 135 

wells at and near 136 

Flackville, water supply at 183 

wells at 184 

water of, analysis of 185 

Fletcher, water supply at 115 

Flora, public supply at 68, 82 

wells at, data on 85 

water of, analysis of 86 

Florida, water supply at 173 

Flowing wells, conditions for 58 

conditions for, figures showing 59 

location of 61-62 

Foaming, cause and prevention of 240 

Foraker, water supply at 108 

Forest, wells at and near. . . .* 97, 100 

Forests, effect of, on water supply 22 

Fort Benjamin Harrison, public supply at. . . 68, 

182-183 

wells at, record of 182 

Fortville, water supply at 141 

wells at 142 

water of, analysis of 143 

Fowlertown, water supply at 126 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Frankfort, public supply at 68, 97-98 

wells at 100 

record of 98 

water of, analysis of 101 

Franktown, water supply at 171 

wells near 174 

water of, analysis of 175 

Friendswood, water supply at 148 

Fulton, water supply at 114 

wells at 115 

Fulton County, artesian areas in 112 

geology and ground water of 111-112 

municipal supplies in 112-115 

topography of ^ UQ 



272 



IXDEX. 



Page. 

Fulton County, wells in, data on 115 

wells in, water of, analyses of 116 

G. 

Gadsden, water supply at "5 

Galveston, public supply at 68, 92 

wells at 90-93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Gas, occurrence of 39 

output of 23 

Gas City, public supply at 68, 122 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 12" 

Gem, water supply at 142 

Geography, description of l"-' 2 ^ 

Geologic history, outline of 24-25 

Geologic map of north-central Indiana 36 

Geology, description of 24-45 

relation of, to ground water 25. 50-52 

Georgetown, water supply at 93 

Germany, water supply at 115 

Gilman, water supply at 1"3 

well at 174 

water of, analysis of 1"5 

Glacial drift. See Drift. 

Glacial lakes, character and location of 34 

Glacial till. See Till. 

Glaciation, effect of, on topography 26-27 

Glens Valley, water supply at 183 

Goldsmith, water supply at 219 

well near 219 

Goshen, public supply at 63. 68, 106 

wells at 108 

record of 106 

water of, analyses of 109 

Granger, water supply at 211 

Grant County, artesian areas in 120-121 

geology and ground water of 118-121 

municipal supplies in 121-125 

topography of 117 

wells in, data on 125-126 

water of, analyses of 127-128 

Grass Creek, water supply at 115 

wells near 112. 115 

Gravelton, water supply at 163 

Greenfield, public supply at 68, 141 

water at, analyses of 266 

wells at and near 140. 142 

water of, analysis of 143 

Greenoak, water supply at 115 

Greentown, public supply at 68. 154 

wells at 152-153. 156 

Greetingsville, water supply at 100 

Groomsville, water supply at 219 

Ground water, fluctuations of 21 . 47 

mineral matter in 53 

movement of 33. 47-49 

figures showing 46. 48 

occurrence of 50-52 

relation of, to geology 25. 50-52 

to topography 50 

figure showing 50 

sources of 45-47. 49 

volume of 52-53 

See also Deep waters. 



H. 

Hackleman, water supply at 124 

Hadley, water supply at 148 

wells at 148 

Hamilton, water supply at 211 

Hamilton County, artesian areas in 131-132 

geology and ground water of 129-132 

municipal supplies in 132-135 

topography of 129 

wells in, data on 136 

water of, analyses of 137 

Hancock County, artesian area? in 140 

geology and ground water of 138-140 

municipal supplies in 141-142 

topography of 138 

wells in, data on 142 

water of, analysis of 143 

Hanfield, water supply at 124 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Hardness, causes of 237-238 

Harris Station, water supply at 193 

Hastings, water supply at 163 

Hazelrig, water supply at 75 

wells near 72. 76 

water of, analysis of 77 

Hazelwood, water supply at 148 

Hazen, Allen, cited 253 

Heating, purification by 252. 257 

Hemlock, water supply at 155 

well at 156 

water of, analysis of 157 

Hendricks County, artesian areas in 145-146 

geology and ground water of 144-146 

municipal supplies in 146-148 

topography of 143-144 

wells in, data on 148 

water of, analyses of 149 

Herbst, water supply at 124 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Hibbard, well at 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Hillisburg, water supply at 100 

wells at, water of, analysis of 101 

Hobbs, water supply at 219 

well at : 219 

Hoover, water supply at 93 

Hopedale, water supply at 84 

Hopkins, T. C, work of 15 

Horton, water supply at 135 

Howard County, artesian areas in 151-153 

geology and ground water of 150-153 

municipal supplies in 153-155 

topography of 150 

wells in, data on 155-156 

water of, analyses of 157 

Howland S tation , water supply at 183 

Hydraulic rams, description of 62-63 

Hydrogen sulphide in water, effect of 237, 249 

I. 

Ice sheet, movements of 26 

Indianapolis, public supply at 63, 68, 179-182 

water at, analysis of 263 

wells at 1"8 



INDEX. 



273 



Page. 

Indianapolis, wells at, records ol 181,184 

wells at, water of, analyses of 185-186 

Industrial uses, water for 244-249 

Ingalls, water supply at 172-173 

wells at and near 168, 174 

water of, analyses of 176 

Inhabitants, statistics of 24 

Inwood, water supply at 193 

well at 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Iron in water, effect of 237, 246-247 

J. 

Jackson, water supply at 219 

Jadden, water supply at 124 

Jalapa, water supply at 124 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Jamestown (Boone County) , water supply at . 75 

wells at 148 

water of, analysis of 149 

Jamestown (Elkhart County), water supply 

at 108 

wells at 108 

Jefferson, water supply at ... ! 100 

wells at 100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Jeffersonville limestone, character and dis- 
tribution of 36, 44, 72 

water in 36, 44 

Jerome, water supply at 155 

Joints, description of 48, 51 

Jolietville, water supply at 135 

Jonesboro, public supply at 68, 122-123 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Joppa, water supply at 148 

K. 

Kalorama, water supply at 163 

wells at 160 

Kankakee River, system of 18 

Kappa, water supply at 155 

Kempton, water supply at 218 

well at 219 

Kewanna, public supply at 69, 113-114 

wells at 115 

water of, analysis of 116 

Kinzie, water supply at 163 

Kirkland, well at, data on 76 

Kirklin, water supply at 99 

wells at and near 97, 100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Knobstone group, character and distribution 

of 36,44,51,71,96,144,179 

water in 36, 45, 51, 71 

Kokomo, public supply at 69, 153-154 

section at, figures showing 90 

water at, analyses of 266 

wells at and near 90, 150, 152, 156 

record of 154 

water of, analyses of 157 

Kokomo limestone, character and distribu- 
tion of 36, 112, 151, 198, 216-217 

Kosciusko County, artesian areas in 160-161 

geology and ground water of . . ■. 159-161 



Page. 
Kosciusko County, municipal supplies in. . 161-163 

topography of 158 

wells in, data on 163-164 

water of, analyses of 165 

L. 

La Fontaine, water supply at 226 

wells at and near 224, 228 

water of, analysis of 229 

Lagro, water at, analysis of 266 

water supply at 227 

well at 228 

water of, analysis of 229 

Lake Cicott, water supply at 93 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Lake Huron, water of, analysis of 263 

Lake Kankakee, glacial, description of 34 

Lake Manitou, wells near 112 

Lakes, distribution and character of 18-19 

water supplies from 64 

Lakes, Great, no connection between wells 

and 45 

Laketon, water supply at 226-227 

well at 228 

water of, analysis of 229 

Lakeville, water supply at 211 

well at 212 

water of, analysis of 213 

Landess, water supply at 125 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 127 

Lapaz, water supply at 193 

well at 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Lapel, water supply at 172 

wells at and near 168-169, 174 

water of, analysis of 176 

Laurence, water supply at 1S3 

Lebanon, public supply at 69, 73-74 

wells at and near 72, 73, 76 

record of 73 

water of, analyses of 77 

Leesburg, water supply at 163 

well at 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Leisure, water supply at 173 

well at 174 

water of, analysis of 176 

Leiters Ford, water supply at 115 

Leverett, Frank, work of 13-14, 15 

Liberty Mills, water supply at 229 

wells at and near 224, 228 

water of, analyses of 229 

Limestones, bedding planes in, water in. 47-48, 51, 119 

bedding in, figures showing. 48, 118 

character and distribution of 37 

flowing wells from 61 

figures showing 59, 61 

solution channels in, view of 58, 168 

water in .'. 37, 52, 83 

quality of 261 

Lincoln, water supply at 93 

wells at 93 

Lincolnville, water supply at 227 

Linwood, water supply at 173 



46448°— wsp 254—10- 



-18 



274 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Little Wild Cat Creek, wells on 152 

Lizton, water supply at 148 

Location of region 13 

map showing 14 

Locke, water supply at 108 

Lockport, water supply at 84 

Logansport, public supply at 63, 69. 90-91 

water at, analyses of. 263. 266 

wells near 90,93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Longcliff, wells at 89, 93 

wells at, water of. analysis of 94 

Loree, water supply at 201 

Lorraine formation, character and distribu- 
tion of 40 

Lucerne, water supply at 93 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of .. 94 

Lydick, water supply at 211 

M. 

McCordsville, water supply at 142 

wells at and near K2 

McGrawsville, water supply at .' 201 

Macy , water supply at 201 

wells at 202 

water of, analyses of 203 

Madison County, artesian areas in 168-169 

geology and ground water of 166-169 

municipal supplies in 169-173 

topography of 166 

wells in, data on 173-174 

water of, analyses of . . . .' 17.5-176 

Magnesium in water, presence of. . . 237-238, 239, 247 

Mailtrace, water supply at 227 

well at ! 228 

Manitou Lake, water of, analysis of 266 

Manson, water supply at 100 

wells near 97, 100 

Map of artesian areas 58 

of surface deposits 16, 26 

Map , geologic , of north-central Ind iana 36 

Map, index, showing area discussed 14 

Maplewood, water supply at 148 

Markleville, water supply at 173 

wells near 168 

Marion, water supply at 69, 121-122 

wells at and near 120, 126 

record of 121 

water of, analyses of 127-128 

Marion County, artesian areas in 179 

geology and ground water of 177-179 

municipal supplies in 179-183 

topography of 177 

wells in, data on 184 

water of, analyses of 185-186 

Marshall County, artesian areas in 189-190 

geology and ground water of 188-190 

municipal supplies in 190-193 

topography of 187-188 

wells in, data on 193 

water of, analysis of 194-195 

Marshall County Infirmary, well at 193 

well at , water of, analysis of 196 

Marshes, distribution and character of 19 

Matter Park, wells at and near 120 

wells at and near, views of. 120 



Page. 
Matthews, water supply at 124 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 128 

Max, water supply at 75 

Maxinkuckee, water supply at 193 

wells at and near 189, 193 

water of, analysis of 194 

Maxwell, water supply at 142 

wells at and near. 142 

Medicinal use, water for 249-251 

Melners Corners, water supply at 142 

wells near 1/0, 142 

Menoquet, water supply at 163 

Menton, water supply at 163 

well at, water of, analysis of 165 

Metsa, water supply at ' 93 

Mexico, well at 202 

water of, analysis of 203 

Miami, water supply at 201 

wells at and near 199, 202 

water of, analyses of 203 

Miami County, artesian areas in 198-199 

geology and ground water of 197-199 

municipal supplies in 199-201 

topography of 196 

wells in, data on 201-202 

water of, analysis of 203-204 

Michigantown, water supply at 100 

wells at and near 97. 100 

Middleburg, water supply at 107 

wells at 108 

Middlefork, water supply at 100 

wells at 100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Mier, water supply at 125 

wells near 120 

Milford, public supply at 69. 162 

well at 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Milford Junction, water supply at 163 

Millersburg, water supply at 107 

wells at 108 

water of, analysis of 109 

Minerals, presence of, in water 233. 238 

Mineral water, character of 53. 233, 249-251 

Mishawaka, public supply at 63, 69, 209-210 

wells at 212 

record of 209 

water of, analyses of 213 

Mississinewa River, drainage of 117 

water of, analysis of 266 

Mississippian rocks, character and distribu- 
tion of 36, 44 

water in 36 

See also particular formations. 

Mohawk, water supply at 142 

Monticello, water at, analysis of 266 

Moraines, character and distribution of 29-30 

construction of 97 

form of 30 

topography of 30 

water in 31 

See also particular counties. 
Moran, water supply at 100 

wells at and near 97, 100 

Mounds Park, well at, water of, analysis of . . . 176 
I Mount Clair, water supply at 148 



INDEX. 



275 



Page. 

Mount Comfort , water supply at 142 

wells near 142 

Mud Creek, wells on 217 

Mulberry, water supply at 99 

wells at 100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Municipal supplies. See Public supplies. 



X. 



Nappanee, public supply at 69, 107 

wells at 108 

water of, analysis of 109 

National Military Home, public supply at. . . 69, 124 

Nead, water supply at 201 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 203 

Nevada, water supply at 219 

well at 219 

New Albany shale, character and distribu- 
tion of. . . 36, 44, 71-72, 79, 96, 131, 144, 174 

water in 36, 44, 71-72, 79-80 

New Augusta, water supply at 183 

well at, water of, analysis of 186 

New Bethel, water supply at 183 

New Brighton, water supply at 135 

New Brunswick, water supply at 75 

New Carlisle, public supply at 69, 210-211 

wells at 212 

water of, analyses of 213 

New Columbus, water supply at 173 

well at 174 

water of, analysis of 176 

New Holland, water supply at 227 

New Lancaster, water supply at 219 

New London, water supply at 155 

well at 156 

water of, analysis of 157 

New Orleans, water purification at 252 

New Palestine, public supply at 69, 141 

wells at 140, 142 

New Paris, water supply at 108 

wells at 108 

water of, analysis of 109 

New Waverly, water supply at 93 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

New Winchester, water supply at 148 

wells near , 146 

Niagara limestone, character and distribution 

of 36, 41-42, 89, 119, 130-131, 

139-140, 151, 167, 178. 198, 216-217, 223 

solution channels in, view of 58 

water in 42,49,52,60-61,119-120,131-132 

Noblesville, public supply at 69, 133-134 

wells at and near 136 

records of 133 

water of, analyses of 137 

Nora, water supply at . 183 

wells at '. 184 

Normal, water supply at 125 

Normanda, water supply at 219 

North Grove, water supply at 201 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 203 



Page. 

North Liberty, water supply at 211 

wells at and near 207, 212 

water of, analysis of 213 

North Manchester, public supply at 69,225-226 

section at 226 

wells at and near '. 224. 228 

water of, analyses of 229 

North Salem, water supply at 147 

wells near 146, 148 

water of, analvsis of 149 

North Webster, water supply at 103 

Notre Dame, wells at 212 

water of, analysis of 213 

O. 

Oaklandon, water supply at 183 

wells near 142 

Ockley , water supply at . . , 84 

Odor, cause of, in water 235 

Oil, output of 23 

occurrence of 39 

Oil wells, pollution from. , 39, 264 

Omega, w T ater supply at. . . : 135 

Onw^ard, water supply at 93 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Ordovician rocks, character and distribution 

of 36,37-41 

See also particular formations. 

Orestes, water supply at 172 

wells at 176 

water of, analysis of 176 

Organic matter in water, effect of 249 

Osceola, water supply at 211 

wells at 212 

water of, analysis of 213 

Oswego, water supply at 163 

Outwash, character and distribution of 31 

water in 32 

wells in 32 

Outwash plains, construction of 27 

flowing wells in 59 

figure showing 59 

Owasco, water supply at 84 

P. 

Packerton, water supply at 163 

Palestine, water supply at 163 

Patton, water supply at 84 

wells at, data on 85 

Pecksburg, water supply at 148 

Pendleton , water supply at 172 

wells at and near 168, 174 

water of, analyses of 176 

Pendleton sandstone, character and distribu- 
tion of 36, 44 

water in 36, 44 

Perkinsville, water supply at 173 

well at 174 

water of, analysis of 176 

Perrysburg, w r ater supply at 201 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 203 



276 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Peru, public supply at 63, 69, 199-200 

water at, analyses of 266, 267 

wells at and near 198, 202 

record of 199, 201 

water of, analyses of 203-204 

Pettysville , water supply at 201 

well at : 202 

water of, analysis of 204 

Philadelphia, water supply at 142 

Phlox, water supply at 155 

Pickard , water supply at 100 

Pierceton, public supply at 69, 162-163 

well at 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Pike, water supply at 75 

Pipe Creek, wells on 120-121, 163 

Pittsboro, water supply at. 147 

wells near 148 

water of, analysis of 149 

Pittsburg, water supply at 83 

wells at, water of, analysis of 86 

Plainfield, water supply at 146-147 

wells at, record of 147 

Plains, structure of 27 

Plevna, water supply at 155 

Plymouth , water supply at 69, 190-191 

wells at and near 189, 193 

record of 190 

water of, analysis of 194-195 

Point Isabel, water supply at 125 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 128 

Polan Town, water supply at 211 

Population, distribution of 24 

Pores, water in 50 

Port Huron, Mich. , water at, analysis of 263 

Prairie Creek, wells on ! 72 

Precipitation, records of 20-21 

relation of, to ground water 47 

Public supplies, care of 65-66 

data on 68 

ownership of 66-67 

pollution of 65-66 

sources of 63 

relative merits of 63-65 

See also particular cities, towns, etc. 

Puckett, water supply at 125 

Pumps, water lifting by 62 

Pyrmont, water supply at 84 

wells near, data on 85 

Q. 

Quaternary rocks, description of 36 

water in t . 36 

See also Alluvium; Drift; etc. 

Pv. 

Radley, water supply at 125 

Radnor, water supply at 84 

wells near 81, 85 

water of. analysis of 86 

Rainfall. See Precipitation. 

Raintown. water supply at 148 

Redbridge, water supply at 227 

well at 228 

Reese, water supply at 75 

Relief, description of 17 

See also Topography. 



Page. 

Reno, water supply at 148 

Reserve, water supply at 201 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 204 

Richland Center, water supply at 115 

wells at us 

water of, analysis of 116 

Richmond formation, character and distribu- 
tion of 40 

Rich Valley, water at, analysis of 267 

water supply at 227 

Ridgeway, water supply at 155 

Rigdon, water supply at 125 

Rivers, water supply from 63 

Roann, water supply at 226 

well at 227 

water of, analysis of 229 

Rochester, "public supply at 64, 69, 112-113 

section at 113 

water at, analyses of 266, 267 

wells at 112, 115 

water of, analyses of 116' 

Rockfield, wells in, data on 80, 85 

water of, analysis of 86 

Rock formations, character of, relation of, to 

ground water 25, 37, 51-52 

Rock formations, description of 35-45 

flowing wells from 59-61 

figure showing 59 

springs from 54-55 

figure showing 54 

table of 36 

waters in, analyses of 261 

quality of 261-262 

sources of .* 49, 60 

Roseburg, water supply at 125 

Rosehill, water supply at 223 

Rosstown, water supply at 75 

Rossville, water supply at 99 

wells at 1C0 

water of, analysis of 101 

Royal Center, public supply at 69, 91-92 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Royalton, water supply at 75 

Russiaville, public supply at 69, 154 

wells near 152, 156 

water of, analyses of 157 

Rutland, water supply at 193 

well at : 193 

S. 

St. Joseph County, artesian areas in 206-207 

geology and ground water of 206-207 

municipal supplies in 207-211 

topography of 205 

wells in, data on 212 

water of, analyses of 213-214 

St. Joseph River, system of 18 

St. Peter sandstone, character and distribu- 
tion of 37-38, 51 

water in , 38, 49, 51 

Salamonie River, water of, analysis of 266 

Sand, character and distribution of 33 

water in 33, 53 

Sandstones, character and distribution of 37 

water ;'n 37, 51, 53 

Santa Fe, water supply at 201 



INDEX. 



277 



Page. 
Scale, formation of 238-239 

prevention of 241-242 

Scircleville, water supply at 100 

wells at 100 

water of, analysis of 101 

Sedalia, water supply at '. 100 

wells at 100 

Sellersburg limestone, character and distri- 
bution of 36, 44, 72 

water in 36, 44 

Servia, water supply at 227 

Sevastopol, water supply at 163 

well at 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Shales, character and distribution of 37 

water in 37, 52 

Shannondale, well at, data on 76 

Sharpville, water supply at 218 

wells at and near 217, 219 

Sheridan, public supply at 69 

wells at 134, 136 

water of, analysis of i37 

Shirley, water supply at 142 

wells at 142 

Showley, water supply at 115 

Sidney, water supply at 163 

wells at 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

Silurian rocks, character and distribution 

of 36, 41-43, 89, 112 

water in 42-43, 52, 59-61 

See also particular formations. 
Silverlake, well at 164 

well at, water of, analysis of 165 

Sims, water supply at 125 

wells at 126 

Siphon, water lifting by 62 

Sleeth, water supply at 84 

Soda ash, use of in boilers 241-242 

Softening, processes of 252, 256 

Soils, description of 22-23 

Somerset, water supply at 227 

wells at 224, 228 

water of, analysis of 229 

South Bend, public supply at 69, 207-208 

wells at and near 206-207, 212 

records of 208 

water of, analyses of 213-214 

Southport, water supply at 183 

Southwest, water supply at 108 

Spiker, water supply at 227 

Springs, water supplies from 65 

See also Drift springs; Rock springs. 
Stabler, H., cited 242-243 

work of 265 

Steaming, water for 238-24-1- 

Stilesville, water supply at 148 

Stony Creek, wells on 132 

Stratigraphy, description of 35-45 

Strawtown, water supply at 135 

wells at 132, 136 

water of, analysis of 137 

Streams, description of 17-19 

Structure, relation of, to ground water 50-51 

Sugar Creek, wells on 81, 140 

Sulphur in water, effect of 237, 248 



Page. 

Summary of results 15-16 

Summitville, water supply at 69, 171-172 

well at 174 

record of 172 

water of, analysis of 176 

Surface deposits, character and distribution of 27-34 

maps of 16, 26 

waters from 258-260 

analyses of 260 

Surface waters, analyses of 263 

public supply from 63-64 

quality of , 262-264 

relation of, to wells 46 

figure showing 46 

Suspended matter in water, character and 

effect of 245-246 

Swayzee, water supply at 124 

wells at 126 

water of, analysis of 128 

Sweetsers, water supply at 125 

wells at ' 126 

water of, analysis of 128 

Sycamore, water supply at 155 

well at 156 

Syracuse, public supply at 64, 69, 162 

wells at 164 

water of, analysis of 165 

T. 

Talena, water supply at 115 

wells at 112, 115 

water of, analysis of 116 

Teegarden, water supply at 193 

wells at and near 189, 193 

water of, analysis of 195 

Temperature, records of 19, 20 

Terre Coupe, water supply at 211 

well at, water of, analysis of 214 

Tetersburg, water supply at 219 

Thorntown, water supply at 74 

wells in and near 72, 76 

record of 74 

water of, analysis of 77 

Tilden, water supply at 148 

wells near 146, 148 

Till, character and distribution of 27-28 

topography of 28 

water in 28-29 

wells in 29 

See also particular counties. 

Till plains, construction of 27 

Timber, extent of 21-22 

Tiosa, water supply at 114 

wells at and near 115 

water of, analysis of 116 

Tippecanoe, water supply at 193 

wells, near 189 

Tippecanoe River, drainage of 110, 158 

water of, analysis of 266 

Tipton, public supply at 69, 217-218 

wells at and near 217,219 

water of, analyses of 220 

Tipton County, artesian areas in 217 

geology and ground water of 216-217 

municipal supplies In 217-219 

topography of 215 



278 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Tipton County, wells in, data on 219 

wells in, water of, analyses of 220 

Topography, description of 17 

effect of glaciation on 26-27 

relation of, to ground water 47, 50 

figure showing 50 

See also Till; Moraines. 

Traders Point, water supply at 183 

wells near 179, 184 

Transportation, network of 23 

Treaty, water supply at 227 

Treaty Creek, wells on 223-224 

Trenton limestone, character and distribu- 
tion of 38-39 

oil and gas in 38 

water in 39-40 

dangers from 40 

Twelve Mile, water supply at 93 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Tyner, water supply at 193 

well at 193 

water of, analysis of 195 

U. 
Underground water. See Ground water. 

Upland, public supply at 69, 123 

wells at : 126 

Urbana, water supply at 227 

wells at 228 

water of, analyses of 229 

Utica shale, character and distribution of 40 

V. 

Valley Mills, water supply at 183 

Valleys, buried, character and location of 26 

Vanburen, public supply at 69, 123 

wells at 126 

water of, analyses of 128 

Vawters Park, water supply at 163 

Vegetation, character of 21-22 

Vermont, water supply at 155 

well at 156 

Vernon, water supply at 227 

well at 228 

Vincennes, water at, analysis of 263 

Vistula, water supply at 108 

W. 

Wabash, public supply at 69,225 

wells at and near 223. 228 

record of 223, 225 

water of, analyses of 229 

Wabash County, artesian areas in 223-224 

geology and ground water of 222-224 

municipal supplies in 225-227 

topography of 221-222 

wells in, data on 228 

water of, analyses of 229 

Wabash River, system of 17-18 

water of, analyses of 263. 266 

Wagoner, water supply at 115. 201 

well at 202 

water of, analysis of 204 

Wakarusa, water supply at 107 

wells at and near 104,108 

water of, analysis of 109 



Page. 

Walker, water supply at 84 

wells at, data on 86 

Walkerton, public supply at 69, 210 

well at 212 

water of, analyses of 214 

Walnut, water supply at 193 

well at, water of, analysis of 195 

Walnut Grove, water supply at 211 

well at 212 

Walton, water supply at 92 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Warrington, water supply at 142 

wells at 142 

Warsaw, water at, analyses of 266, 267 

public supply at 64,69,161 

wells at 160, 164 

record of 162 

water of, analyses of 165 

Water, analysis of 230-233 

bacteriological qualities of 235-236 

chemical composition of 258-267 

chemical qualities of 236-238 

classification of 233-251 

standards for 242-244 

field assays of 265-267 

mineral constituents of 233 

physical qualities of 235 

purification of 251-258 

See also Filtration; Softening; Heat- 
ing. 

uses of 234 

See also particular uses. 
Water, underground. See Ground water. 

Waterford, water supply at 108 

Water lifts, description of 62-63 

Water supplies. See Public supplies. 

Wausas Lake, well near 160 

Wawasee, water supply at 163 

Wawpekong, water supply at 201 

Wells, abundance of 16 

construction of 55-57 

drilling of, rig for, view of 58 

plugging of 40 

pollution of 55 

types of 29, 55-57 

description of 55-57 

water in, fluctuations of 21 

source of 45 

supply from 64-65 

Wells, flowing. See Flowing wells. 

Westfield, water supply at 135 

wells at 132 

West Liberty, water supply at 155 

wells near 156 

water of, analysis of 157 

West Middleton, water supply at 155 

wells at and near 152, 156 

water of, analysis of 157 

West Xewton, water supply at 183 

West Peru, water supply at 201 

wells at and near 202 

water of, analysis of 204 

Wheeling, water supply at 84 

Whipple, G.C., cited." 235.237 

White Institute, well at 224 



INDEX. 



279 



Page. 
Whitelick, water supply at 75 

wells near 72-73 

White River, system of 18 

water of, analyses of 263 

Whitestown, water supply at 74-76 

Wild Cat Creek, water of, analysis of 266 

wells on 81, 97 

Wilkinson, water supply at 142 

wells at 142 

Williams Creek, wells on 131 

Willow, water supply at 142 

wells at .' 142 

Winamac, water at, analysis of 266 

Winchester, wells near 148 

Windfall, water supply at 218 

wells at 219 

water of, analysis of 220 

Winona Lake, water of, analysis of 266 



Page. 

Winona Lake, water supply at 1C3 

wells at 1C4 

water of, analysis of 165 

Woodland, water supply at 211 

Wooster, water supply at 163 

wells near 160 

Wyatt, water supply at 211 

Y. 

Yoeman, water supply at £4 

Young America, water supply at 92 

wells at 93 

water of, analysis of 94 

Z. 

Zionsville, water supply at 75 

wells near 73, 76, 136 

water of, analysis of 77 



O 



